Drums and Pianos
by Follow-The-Firefly
Summary: Strange things always happen at band camp, but to the members of Twilight High, this one beats all others. AkuRoku. Rated T for Teen. Side pairings include Zemyx, Soku and MarlyVex among others.
1. I Love You Prelude to Tragedy

**Disclaimer: I can't find those copyright papers....huh. I guess that means I don't own KH! **

**Hallo! It's Mika-chan! Some of my readers may remember this title. Well, I was looking over it a few days ago and decided it was high time for a rewrite. The plot has changed a LITTLE bit, but the idea is basically the same. That being said, I don't know much about marching band and colour guard. I played the clarinet in band from grades 4-8, but that's it. I have friends in colour guard, so they can help me with that kind of thing. If any of my readers have been to band camp and/or in marching band, any help would be greatly appreciated. so...let the deadly tale begin!**

The band members of the infamous Twilight High School marching band had thought that band camp would be boring and pointless. Some of the older members remembered the events from the camp held the previous year, but those times were sure to have evanesced since the underclassmen would almost certainly ruin the fun. Little did they know, however, that two short weeks would change the lives of many.

The camp was held about two hours outside of Twilight Town in a remote place with a name so boring that almost everyone had forgotten it upon their arrival. For one reason or another, the chorus tagged along for the camp, which didn't make sense to anyone in either band or chorus. Cid, the band instructor, had informed those in the marching band that they would be taking part in a so-called competition with other high school marching bands. The renowned marching band from Hollow Bastion, notorious for their song selection and upbeat routines, would be competing with Twilight High, which would make the competition even more annoying. The chorus was also to be competing, even though they had no idea why.

So after a two-hour bus ride, the marching band from Twilight High started to retrieve their instruments and luggage from the underside of the charter bus. Their uniforms were with Cid, which probably wasn't the best idea, since the band instructor was well known for loosing things after having them in his possession for under a minute.

Roxas was trying to pry his keyboard free from between a tenor sax and a trombone when he heard Sora, his twin brother, calling him from the Mess Hall, which was a few yards away. Despite the fact that they were twins, no one had a hard time distinguishing the two brothers. Axel and Reno, however, weren't so lucky. Even though their eyes were two completely different colours, Reno and Axel were always being mistaken for one another.

Looking in the direction of the Mess Hall, Roxas saw his brother sprinting in his direction with his boyfriend, Riku, not far behind him. Sora always had an excess amount of energy, which Roxas found quite irritating, and he couldn't understand how Riku could put up with him.

"What do you want, Sora?" Roxas sighed as he continued to attempt to free his keyboard.

"Did you get your cabin assignment from Cid yet?" Sora asked.

"Yeah, I'm in cabin six." Roxas nodded.

"Oh, damn." Riku looked startled and amused at the same time.

"What?" Roxas looked at the silver-haired teen. "What's wrong?"

"You're with Demyx." Sora snickered.

Of course. He _had_ to be with Demyx. Demyx was the sitarist in the band, and for one reason or another, his instrument matched his personality. Demyx was the only person who could rival Sora in terms of hyperactivity. Kairi accidentally made the mistake of giving the faux-hawked teen a cup of coffee one morning before school. After about a minute, Demyx went from talking about the upcoming football game, to a popular video game, to the Latin test that day and to whether or not it was going to rain. The consequences of giving Demyx anything containing caffeine or sugar were deadly and astronomical.

"You're kidding, right?" Roxas groaned.

"And guess who else you're with!" Sora grinned.

"If I'm stuck with Saix…" Roxas said threateningly.

"I'll give you a hint." Riku said. "He's a drummer, his hair is the colour of a fire hydrant and he can't seem to live without his iPod."

It couldn't get any worse, could it? Demyx _and_ Axel in one place? Sure, Axel wasn't as bad as Demyx, but Roxas still didn't want to be around him very much. The band and chorus were convinced that the two had some argument over something and didn't like to talk to each other, but Roxas knew the real reason why he avoided Axel.

Roxas was gay. And he liked Axel.

Of course, everyone knew that he was gay. It was kind of hard to ignore once Roxas started going out with Hayner, who just so happened to be in the chorus. Their relationship had lasted a few months, but it was proof that Roxas was gay. Fortunately, no one seemed to have a problem with it.

Roxas, however, didn't want to take the chance of telling Axel the truth. He had no idea what Axel's reaction would be, if he responded at all. They avoided each other at all costs, so Roxas didn't really know much about the redheaded drummer. He had no idea how he reacted to certain things and Roxas didn't want to make himself look like an idiot.

"Come on, it won't be that bad." Sora assured him, seeing that his twin was clearly annoyed by this decision.

"Why do you hate him so much, anyway?" Riku wondered as he helped Roxas free the keyboard from the luggage.

"I don't _hate_ him, Riku." Roxas corrected him.

"Well, there's _some_thing going on between the two of you." Sora said.

"We'd better get going, Sora." Riku took Sora by the hand. "We still have to unload our stuff, remember?"

"Ah, right." Sora rolled his eyes. "Well, see you tomorrow then, Roxas."

"Whatever." Roxas rolled his eyes as Sora and Riku walked back to their cabin.

It took another few minutes for Roxas to retrieve his suitcase, which was wedged between a drum set that probably belonged to Yuffie and a baritone sax. Once he had finally gathered his entire luggage, he carted his belongings over to cabin six, where he prepared himself for the horror that was sure to come.

Upon entering, Roxas' eyes met what could only be described as chaos. It appeared that Demyx had taken no time at all to make the cabin look like a toxic wasteland. Cloud and Vincent, the other inhabitants of the cabin, looked rather annoyed by the actions of the sitarist and were trying to counter-act whatever Demyx had done by attempting to put things back in their rightful place. Axel, on the other hand, was sitting on his bed listening to his iPod, completely oblivious to the scene around him.

"About time, Roxas!" Cloud exclaimed. "You can help out, you know."

"He's done this much already?" Roxas raised an eyebrow, claiming the bed next to Cloud's as his own. "How long has he been here?"

"About five minutes." Vincent shoved a series of video game cases into the nearby bedside table.

"Has he had caffeine or sugar?" Roxas felt like a doctor examining a patient.

"Not that I know of." Cloud shook his head.

"Then why is he like this?" Roxas questioned as he watched Demyx dance around the tiny cabin as he sang the main song from _The Sound of Music_.

"Shut up, Demyx!" Axel shouted, speaking for the first time since Roxas' arrival. "There's a reason why you're not in chorus!"

"I didn't sign up for it." Demyx grinned.

"Not what I was talking about." Axel's peridot eyes found Roxas and they narrowed in confusion, as though Axel had just realized that Roxas was there. "What are you doing here, Roxas?"

"I'm staying here, Axel." Roxas said.

"Why?" Axel questioned.

"How should I know?" Roxas shrugged. "Take it up with Cid if you have a problem with it."

"What's the deal with you two?" Cloud demanded.

"You always act like you hate each other." Vincent said.

"We don't hate each other." Roxas and Axel said at the same time.

"Then why the hell do you two start fighting every time you see each other?" Cloud wanted to know.

"No idea." Axel shrugged before retreating to his music once again.

"This is so pointless." Roxas sighed, taking out his summer homework for his upcoming Latin class.

"Are we going to have to stay up all night to make sure that one of you doesn't get killed in your sleep?" Cloud asked over Demyx's rendition of _Springtime for Hitler_.

"No, Cloud." Roxas assured him, ignoring the fact that Vincent had taken a rather large textbook and started beating the sitarist over the head.

"That hurts, Vincent!" Demyx whined.

"Then shut up!" Vincent and Axel yelled at the same time.

"It's like the band camp from hell." Cloud pinched his fingers against his nose.

"With the addition of the chorus." Roxas reminded him.

"Yeah, why is that?" Axel had given up on his music and was twisting the headphones around his crimson iPod.

"Because Cid and Sephiroth are insane?" Cloud asked, referring to the chorus instructor.

"What else is new?" Vincent shrugged.

"I got a new video game!" Demyx beamed.

"No one asked you." Axel threw a pen at the faux-hawked teen.

"Why are you all so mean?" Demyx whined.

"Why are you such an idiot?" Axel demanded.

"I'm not an idiot, Axel." Demyx protested.

"I beg to differ." Roxas said.

"Seriously!" Demyx exclaimed. "I got a hundred on my Latin test last week."

"That's because you got the answers from Seifer." Axel said.

"So?" Demyx challenged.

"You don't get it, do you?" Cloud flopped down on his bed and started to work on his AP Biology homework.

"Get what?" Demyx cocked his head in a confused manner.

"That it's not ethically right to cheat on a test." Vincent explained.

"Who cares?" Demyx shrugged. "Xigbar does it all the time."

"Xigbar isn't of sound mind." Roxas said, referring to his Latin-English dictionary.

"He has speakers in his brain?" Demyx didn't always think things through.

"How stupid are you?" Axel rolled his eyes. "Of course he doesn't have speakers in his brain."

"But Roxas said that he wasn't of sound mind." Demyx pointed out.

"That doesn't mean he has speakers in his brain, Demyx." Cloud's eyes were glued to his textbook.

"This is ridiculous." Axel shook his head in annoyance.

"Isn't everything?" Vincent wondered.

"Sleep isn't annoying." Axel said.

"Why am I not surprised…" the sarcasm was obvious in Roxas' voice.

"Don't start fighting now. We have two weeks of this, then it's over. Huh…" Cloud said, looking over a page he found in his textbook.

"What's wrong?" Vincent asked, looking up from his own book.

"I found Larxene's notes that I borrowed the other day." Cloud said. "I guess I forgot to give them back."

"She and the rest of the colour guard are here." Roxas said. "You can give it back while were in this hellhole."

Larxene, for one reason or another, was in the colour guard, which completely astounded everyone. It was widely believed that Larxene was a sadist and would do anything to pick a fight with anyone. Perhaps this was why she joined the colour guard; so she could attack people with her flags. And Larxene had been the one who had protested the most about being at the camp in the first place. Even though this was band camp, the colour guard tagged along, since it was a well-known fact that wherever the band went, the colour guard could be found not far behind.

"If anyone should be in the colour guard, it should be Yuffie." Cloud said, setting Larxene's notes aside. "It would be a good way for her to get rid of all that energy."

"But then she'd start whacking people with the flags." Roxas pointed out.

"She's a pretty good drummer, though." Demyx observed.

"But is it really such a good idea to let her near school equipment?" Axel questioned.

"What do you mean?" Vincent mused.

"Remember when she busted Rikku's flute two months ago?" Axel pointed out. "And when she almost destroyed Demyx's sitar?"

"Ruining the sitar would be a blessing." Cloud said, a smirk forming on his lips.

"Not funny, Cloud!" Demyx glared angrily.

"Oh, come off it, Demyx." Axel said.

"I can see what you mean, though." Vincent said. "But at least she's dedicated."

"More like eager to make as much noise as she possibly can." Roxas rolled his eyes. "She still doesn't know the meaning of the word 'quiet'."

"I think Cid's given up on her." Axel pulled out his DS and started playing _Mario Kart_.

"He gave up on her a long time ago." Cloud said. "It's pointless."

"This whole _thing_ is pointless." Axel said.

"Is there anything you don't complain about?" Roxas faced the redhead.

"Like I said, sleep isn't so bad." Axel shrugged one shoulder.

"You really are an idiot, aren't you?" Roxas sighed.

"Hey, I'm no Demyx, Roxas." Axel snapped, ignoring Demyx's yelp of protest.

"Well, if you actually got off your arse and did something, maybe people wouldn't think you're worthless." Roxas stated, the anger level gradually rising.

"That has nothing to do with it." Axel had abandoned his video game entirely.

"Oh, yes it does!" Roxas exclaimed. "All you do is complain about things!"

"I think you have me confused with Vexen." Axel challenged.

"Vexen's annoying, but he's not as annoying as you." Roxas retaliated.

"Oh, I beg to differ." Axel said. "Vexen never shuts up."

"And neither do you." Roxas retorted.

"What's the deal with you, anyway?" Axel's eyes were slits, a sure sign of danger. "You don't know anything about me."

"Like I'd want to." Roxas' voice was full of contempt. "I deal with you all the time in band. I know all I need to know."

"Well, you clearly don't know me as well as you think you do." Axel shot back.

Cloud, Demyx and Vincent watched the scene between the two, wondering how each would counter-act the responses made by the other. Roxas and Axel didn't get along well to begin with. If things kept going like this, they could have a full-fledged war on their hands.

**This is a LOT different, ja? But it's going to be better. It's a little unorthodox, I know, but I'm really hoping it will work out. As I said, any and all help will be greatly appreciated. reviews equal love! **

**next chapter: first rehersals and meeting the band**


	2. Hate This Place

**Disclaimer: I own neither the music nor anything mentioned.**

**Hey! It's Xero! And she's still alive! *gasps* Yes, I am, but I'm going by Xero now instead of Mika-chan. I'm so sorry this took so long to write out. My mp3 died on my at the same time my computer crashed and I had to reformat my mp3, which deleted all of the music. And since I have to be listening to soundtrack music when I write this, I couldn't really continue. But everything is up and running (though I'm still missing some songs...) so expect updates to be sooner than this one. On with the deadly tale!**

When Axel woke up the next morning, the room was flooded with light, which made the peridot eyes narrow in annoyance. Sure, the excess amount of light meant that it was probably near noon, but he wanted to remain asleep. This band camp was going to be a living hell while he was awake, so sleep was the only escape.

Looking around the room, Axel discovered that the only other occupant in the room was Roxas. Of course. It _had_ to be Roxas.

Axel could put up with just about anyone in the band/chorus/colour guard. He could deal with Larxene's angry rants about not being able to stab people with her flag. He could tolerate Wakka and Tidus talking about pointless football games. He could _almost_ tolerate Demyx and his random acts of insanity.

But Roxas was different. Something about Roxas just made him insane. Whenever Axel was around Roxas, he changed. He changed the way he acted, his stance, and Axel was completely aware of it, even though he had no idea why this was. Well, he _had_ an idea, and he was fairly certain that his hypothesis was right.

Looking at the blonde now, Axel felt the same way that he used to when he was around her. It was an unknown fact that Axel had once had a girlfriend, probably because the end result had not been good. Because of this, Axel had tried to pretend that their relationship had never happened, even though he knew that this wasn't possible.

"Wake up!"

Flinching slightly, Axel turned to the door and saw that Demyx had bolted through the door, banging two pots together, creating quite a ruckus indeed.

"What, Demyx?" Axel was clearly annoyed with the actions of the sitarist.

"Wake up, sleepyhead!" Demyx proclaimed.

"You don't know the meaning of the word quiet, do you?" Axel's already angled eyes became slits.

"Why isn't Roxie up?" Demyx stopped making noise and stared at the blonde, who was, quite miraculously, still asleep.

"We'll fix that." Axel said, the corners of his lips forming a small smile.

Crossing the cabin, Axel dug through his backpack until he found his textbook for AP Statistics. Once it was found, Axel then walked quietly over to Roxas and dropped the book on the blonde's chest, causing Roxas to wake up with a start.

"Wake up, Roxas." Axel grinned.

"Couldn't you be normal, Axel?" Roxas scowled, diving under the covers to avoid the sunlight.

"No can do." Axel shook his head before turning to Demyx. "What time is it, anyway?"

"Almost eleven." Demyx replied, tossing the pots out the door.

"Eleven?!" Roxas sat bolt upright, looking quite shocked indeed.

"Yeah." Demyx nodded slowly.

"I _never_ sleep this late!" Roxas exclaimed.

"Hey, I'm hardly functioning at noon." Axel shrugged, looking for his sheet music.

"That explains your dead expression during fourth block." Roxas said, since band was always held the fourth and last block of the day.

"Shut it, Roxas." Axel snapped.

"No fighting." Cloud said as he entered with Reno. "I'm not going to put up with it."

"You do already." Reno pointed out.

"But I have to bunk with them for two weeks." Cloud explained.

"Good point, yo." Reno shrugged.

"We're having practice in twenty minutes." Demyx announced. "I figured you'd want some breakfast before then."

"More like lunch." Roxas said, peeling off his shirt.

"No stripping, Roxas." Axel grinned.

"Oh, what do you know?" Roxas glared at the redhead before pulling on a Pearl Jam shirt.

"A lot more than you give me credit for." Axel turned to his twin and asked, "So why the hell are you here, Reno?"

"Because I figured I could wake you up, yo." Reno said. "I know what works."

"I'm not that hard to wake up, you know." Axel started drumming _The Beautiful People_ on the bedpost.

"Not quite as bad as Roxas, but almost." Reno said.

"I'm a heavy sleeper. What can I say?" Roxas shrugged as he pulled on a pair of jeans.

"Cloud, let's go see if Yuna and Paine want to play Egyptian Rat Screw." Reno said, facing Cloud.

"They're probably with Kairi and Selphie." Cloud said.

"Well, we'll get them to play too, yo." Reno said.

"I don't want to play with a bunch of girls." Cloud protested.

"So we'll get Xaldin and Marluxia to play." Reno said. "Let's go!"

Cloud gave the other three a grimace as he was dragged out of the cabin by the eccentric blonde. It took a few minutes for Roxas to become fully functional, since he was so horrified by the fact that he had slept late.

"Hurry up, Roxas!" Demyx shouted as the blonde was attempting to put on his shoes.

"I'm almost done, Demyx." Roxas glared at the sitarist. "Can't you wait a bit?"

"I have things I wanna do before practice." Demyx states.

"Oh, really?" Axel looked sceptical as he sat waiting for the other two. "What could you _possibly _have to do?"

"Play poker with Xion, Hayner and Tifa." Demyx said.

"Yeah, I'm sure that's really important." Axel rolled his eyes.

"Okay, Demyx." Roxas finally finished getting ready.

"It's about time." Demyx said happily.

"It didn't take that long." Roxas said as he followed the other two out of the cabin.

"That's what you think." Demyx replied.

* * *

"So we don't have any plans for this band camp?"

Riku and Sora were hanging out behind their cabin, trying to kill some time before their rehearsal. Both didn't want to go to a rehearsal before it was even noon, but they didn't really have a say in the matter.

"Well, I'm going to see if I can get Roxas a boyfriend." Sora said, leaning against the cabin, his eyes on Riku as the silver-haired teen played something on his DS.

"In the band?" Riku didn't look up from the screen.

"Or colour guard or show choir." Sora shrugged. "Just a boyfriend in general. He could really use one."

"He's not, like, really depressed, is he?" Riku finally looked at the brunette.

"He just looks so lonely all by himself." Sora said sadly.

"He's fine, Sora." Riku assured him. "Roxas likes to be alone."

"Before he got with Hayner." Sora told the other teen. "He looks so sad now."

"No, he doesn't." Riku contradicted.

"Just how much time do you spend with him, Riku?" Sora challenged, the azure eyes becoming slits.

"Since I'm over at your house pretty much every day, I'd say a lot." Riku said.

"But I'm his brother!" Sora exclaimed. "And his older brother, at that."

"Not by much, though." Riku went back to his video game.

"Yeah, thirteen minutes isn't a big deal." Sora's tone was full of sarcasm.

"Good point." Riku said. "So who exactly do you have in mind for him?"

"I don't really know his type." Sora shrugged, hands in his pockets.

"Which is problematic." Riku smiled.

"Knock it off, okay?" Sora glared at his boyfriend. "At least I'm doing something!"

"Have you ever considered the fact that maybe Roxas _doesn't_ want a boyfriend right now?" Riku suggested.

"Don't be silly, Riku." Sora said. "Who doesn't want to have a boyfriend?"

"Well, straight guys, for one." Riku said.

"You know what I mean." Sora rolled his eyes at Riku's sarcasm.

"Seriously, though. Some guys might like a break between relationships." Riku continued. "And some just don't want their brothers choosing one for them."

"Are you saying I'm dominating, Riku?" Sora demanded.

"I never said that at all." Riku brushed a strand of silver hair from his eyes.

"But you implied it!" Sora complained.

"No, I didn't." Riku shut off the gaming device. "Now come on, or we're going to be late for practice."

* * *

The grassy competition field was filled with dozens of teenagers carrying a variety of instruments. Loz was carting his giant baritone across the field, whilst Cid was helping Rikku with a particularly difficult fingering for her flute. Off to one end of the field, the percussionists were busy at work, though it was slowing down a bit. Demyx, in a random act of hyperactivity, had moved almost all of the equipment to the field. All that was left to do was arrange them.

"Hey, Zack, do you know what song we're doing first?" Axel asked the obsidian-haired teen who was currently trying to tune one of the timpanies.

"Uh…no idea." Zack said. "Need to know if you're with us?"

Being both a drummer and one of the guitarists, Axel was always a bit confused when it came down to the songs. He obviously couldn't be marching on the field and play a glockenspiel at the same time. In years past, Axel was the only electric guitarist in the band, which made everything all the more complicated. When Zack showed up a few years later, another guitarist was added to the marching band, which eased up the situation a bit. Axel was, however, still needed for songs when there was a guitar duet.

"Yeah. Kadaj said something about playing _Waltz of the Damned _first, but then Yuna said we were doing _Ominous Premonition_." Axel said.

"Can't help you there." Zack shook his head. "Did you ask Cid?"

"He's still working with Rikku." Axel replied.

"Not now, he isn't." Yuffie dashed onto the platform with Cloud not far behind.

"So what's the plan?" Zack asked.

"We're doing _The Phon Coast_ first." Cloud said.

"There's your answer." Roxas said from behind them.

"How long have you been there?" Axel gazed at the blonde.

"The whole time." Roxas smiled.

"Let's get going, people!" Cid was yelling from the clarinet section.

"That's my cue." Zack grabbed his guitar and dashed onto the field.

"Yuffie, try not to break the snares this time." Cloud said as he took his place at the wind chimes.

"That wasn't my fault!" Yuffie scowled.

"Yeah, whatever you say." Axel rolled his eyes.

The song began with Cloud's cymbal crash, followed by some chords by the trumpets and Demyx on his infamous sitar. Yuffie was drumming away on her snare whilst Roxas reached behind him for the occasional bell that rang throughout the entirety of the song. Cloud ran a mallet through the wind chimes as he watched the flutes narrowly avoid a head-on collision with the saxophones. Roxas had set his keyboard so it sounded like brass instruments, which greatly enhanced the overall sound of the song. Axel simply drummed in time with Yuffie, who kept loosing her attention, which wasn't really a surprise to anyone.

Just as Xion nearly hit Wakka on the head with her flag, the song changed tempo for a few seconds before resuming the previous beat. It was rather hard for Xion to perform the next move, consisting of several complex spins and twirls of her flag. More often than not, she usually hit Leon with her flag, which he didn't like in the slightest.

The song certainly sounded unique, what with Zack playing the brass part on his electric guitar. His part wasn't in the original score, but Cid felt that it simply had to be spiced up a bit, so he gave Zack a copy of the trumpet's part so he could learn to play the song.

"That was…better." Cid said when the song finished a few minutes later.

"Which means it was bad." Vexen said, drumming his fingers on his baritone sax.

"I didn't say that." Cid said. "It's better than it was."

"But we still need work." Pence wasn't happy about this.

"Let's just move on, okay?" Cid said. "Let's do _Giza Plain_. So get your ass down here, Axel."

"Okay, okay." Axel rolled his eyes as he grabbed his guitar and sprinted down to the field where he stood next to Zack.

Roxas didn't have a lot to do in this particular song, so he watched what everyone else was doing. It was a nice change, since he was usually kept fairly busy. He _did_ have to use a tambourine a little bit since the percussion section was shorthanded because of Axel's absence.

He'd heard the guitars time and time again in this song, but he never particularly noticed the specifics. He never noticed the way Zack's fingers raced up and down the neck during the faster parts of the song, never noticed the way the strings on Axel's guitar vibrated when struck.

The flutes played their part very well, an obvious improvement from when they were first heard. Hearing the flutes meant that Roxas had to get focused again because he, once again, had to play the brass part on his keyboard. But when Yuna started her flute solo, he knew he could relax. At least for a little bit.

"Good practice, guys." Cid said at the end of rehearsal. "I want everyone back here at seven tonight. Got it?"

"Two rehearsals in one day?" Yazoo complained.

"Hell yes, we're having two in one day!" Cid exclaimed. "This is a competition, people!"

"Technically it's a band camp." Reno said as he put his clarinet back in the case.

"No need for the attitude, Reno." Cid snapped.

"Boy, that was disastrous." Axel said from the platform where he was helping Cloud pull the timpanies to the field.

"Yes, it was." Roxas nodded.

"Write this down!" Cloud exclaimed. "Something they agree on!"

"Oh, shut it." Axel kicked Cloud in the shin.

"Why don't you two ever get along?" Yuffie wondered as she carried the high hats down the ramp.

"Me and Roxas or me and Cloud?" Axel wondered.

"You and Roxas." Yuffie said.

"Because he's an idiot." Roxas and Axel said at the same time.

"This is going to get ugly." Cloud said when neither Roxas nor Axel responded after a few seconds.

"I'm going to play War with Leon, Xion and Saix." Yuffie said. "You guys wanna come?"

"Nah, I'll pass." Axel said. "I have some AP Statistics stuff to do."

"Good luck with that!" Yuffie said before dashing off.

Roxas and Axel glared at Cloud, obviously annoyed by his sentence, to which Cloud responded by saying, "Oh, come off it. Let's get going before Cid starts a riot."

**I really hope it wasn't that bad...as you can see, I'll be using songs from FF VII and XII as well as stuff from Bleach and KH! I'll probably add others later if I think of them. Reviews equal love! and requests are always welcome!**

**next chapter: video game competition and a fight between show choir and the colour guard. **


	3. All These Lies

**Disclaimer: How awesome would it be if this really happened? Sadly, though, since I don't own anything mentioned, it can never happen.**

**Hey, yo! It's Xero! Yep, the name change is permanent. ^_^ And I'm liking it a lot. So this is a LONG chapter filled with LOTS of important stuff. So pay attention! On with the deadly tale!**

The afternoon was proving to be as boring as sitting through a business meeting. Cloud was off with Zack and Demyx had brought Zexion over to play 007. Vincent was trying to do his German homework, a grand feat if it was actually completed since the sitarist was making as much noise as a herd of rampaging rhinos.

"Yo Demyx, can't you do that somewhere else?" Axel glared at the faux-hawked teen.

"Nope!" Demyx grinned.

"And why not?" Vincent looked up from his German-English dictionary.

"My cabin is full of girls." Zexion said simply.

"Did Yuna start another _High School Musical_ party again?" Roxas kept his eyes on his DS screen.

"Yep." Zexion nodded, scooping the playing cards in his hand and shuffling them.

"Then I can't say I blame you for being over." Axel said. "But at least tone it down a bit, huh?"

"That's silly, Axel." Roxas said. "You know Demyx can't keep quiet."

"Hey!" Demyx glared at the blonde.

"It's true." Vincent had resumed his homework.

At that moment, Rikku and Yuna dashed into the cabin, both donning _High School Musical _attire.

"Out, Yuna!" Axel snapped.

"Yeah, you can't corrupt our cabin, too." Roxas said.

"That's not what we're here for." Yuna scowled, her mismatched eyes becoming slits.

"Have any of you seen Naminè and Aeris?" Rikku asked.

"We don't care." Zexion said.

"Well, if you see them, tell them we're looking for them." Yuna said. "Got it?"

"Sure, whatever." Axel obviously hadn't been paying much attention and was grateful when the girls left.

"Axel, don't you have homework to do?" Vincent asked the redhead.

"I finished the stuff for AP Statistics." Axel shrugged.

"I thought you had something for Environmental Science." Vincent said.

"Kadaj's taking that, not me." Axel shook his head.

"How do you confuse Axel and Kadaj?" Roxas smiled.

"I have no idea." Vincent shrugged.

"It's too noisy in here, Zexion." Demyx said suddenly. "Let's go somewhere else."

"Yes, please do." Roxas said, looking very relieved indeed.

Demyx glared at Roxas before following Zexion out the door, brushing against Larxene as she made her way into the cabin.

"Well, you're the last person I'd imagine in here, Larxene." Roxas said, still focusing on his DS.

"I'm here for Axel." Larxene's eyes found the redhead, who was lying on his stomach on the bed.

"What do you want me for?" Axel's eyes narrowed in confusion.

"I need to talk to you." Larxene said.

"Okay…" Axel said slowly as he followed Larxene out of the cabin and over to a patch of trees. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I think you know, Axel." Larxene folded her arms across her chest.

"No, I don't." Axel said in a confused voice.

"Xion said that you want to get back with me." Larxene's eyes were serious.

"Where did she hear that?" Axel was _really_ confused now.

"She heard Cloud say something about it." Larxene said. "So is it true?"

"Do you really think I'd want to be with you again, Larxene?" Axel raised an eyebrow. "The first time was obviously proof enough that we can't be together."

"Duh." Larxene rolled her eyes.

"Why does it matter, anyway?" Axel wondered. "We're finished."

"I know that." Larxene said.

"Then why do you care if I supposedly wanted to get back with you?" Axel questioned.

"I thought that maybe you'd be stalking me like Loz did with Paine for a while." Larxene shifted her weight from her left foot to her right.

"Well, I really couldn't care less if I ever saw you again." Axel said.

"Same." Larxene said. "Well, I'm glad to see we're on the same page."

"Whatever." Axel said. "So is that it?"

"Do you hear me saying something else?" Larxene's voice was challenging.

"You never say things you mean to say." Axel said. "You always think I can understand what you're trying to say."

"Oh, for the love of humanity, Axel!" Larxene exclaimed. "I do _not_ think that!"

"Well, that's what it seems like to me." Axel's peridot eyes were slits. "You never get your point across."

"And you do?" Larxene raised an eyebrow.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Axel challenged.

"You never did anything! You never showed any signs of moving forward when I was trying to tell you that I was." Larxene pointed out.

"Maybe I never wanted to move forward, Larxene." Axel retorted harshly.

"Axel?"

Larxene and Axel both turned to see Vincent standing a few feet away from them, his vermilion eyes confused at the scene before him.

"What is it, Vincent?" Axel asked.

"Roxas said that you left your laptop on." Vincent said.

"Whatever." Axel said. "I'll be right there."

Vincent remained where he stood for a few seconds before walking off. Axel faced Larxene and asked, "So that's it?"

"I guess so." Larxene said.

"Fine." Axel said, clearly glad that this conversation was over as he stomped back to his cabin.

When he returned, he found Vincent back on his bed, the German-English dictionary open, and Roxas still playing something or other on his DS.

"You couldn't have turned it off, Roxas?" Axel glared at the redhead as he returned to his crimson laptop.

"It's your laptop." Roxas shrugged with one shoulder. "You should be remembering to turn it off."

"I just went outside for a minute." Axel pointed out. "I was obviously coming back."

"But when you say you'll be gone for a minute, you're usually gone for an hour." Roxas retorted.

"But I _wasn't_ gone for an hour." Axel's eyes were gradually becoming slits.

"That's because I had Vincent get you." Roxas said.

"Don't drag me into this." Vincent said when he heard his name. "I'm not in this conversation."

"You are now." Axel said. "Because apparently Roxas is too lazy to get up and do something himself."

"You're one to talk." Roxas said under his breath.

"What was that?" Axel looked up from the computer screen to glare at the blonde.

"Okay, stop arguing." Vincent was somehow managing to remain calm in the situation. "I am not going to put up with this arguing for two weeks. Understand?"

"Sure." Roxas said whilst Axel simply returned to his computer.

"Are you finally doing your homework?" Vincent asked the redhead.

"Essay for English." Axel said.

"Lit or Lang?" Vincent asked, knowing that Literature and Composition and Language Studies were the two main English classes for their year.

"Lit." Axel scowled. "I have to write an essay on_ Hamlet_ describing if Hamlet really went insane or not."

"I already finished mine." Roxas said, finally closing the DS. "You have Xehanort-sensei, right?"

"Uh-huh." Axel nodded. "Second block."

"I have him third." Roxas said. "He always gives us the same stuff that he gives you guys."

"Excellent." Axel grinned deviously. "So I can get your answers."

"Um, hell no." Roxas said. "And besides, I did a different topic."

"Which one?" Axel frowned.

"Describe the symbolism in the novel." Roxas leaned against the headboard of his bed.

"Just like you to pick the most difficult one." Axel rolled his eyes.

"It wasn't that hard." Roxas shrugged.

"Let me guess. You used SparkNotes?" Axel questioned, his fingers typing away at the keyboard.

"Actually no." Roxas grinned.

"Why am I not surprised?" Axel feigned shock.

"This is a rare moment." Vincent said suddenly, his crimson eyes studying the two teens.

"What is?" Roxas and Axel asked together.

"You two are having a civilized conversation." Vincent mused. "I must tell Cloud about this."

"You should have heard him at rehearsal." Roxas said. He turned back to Axel and said, "So what did Larxene want?"

"Oh, she thought I took her iPod." Axel invented wildly.

"Again?" Roxas wasn't surprised.

"I didn't do it." Axel said, pretending to get defensive. "I told her that it was probably Yazoo or Lexaeus."

"Why would Lexaeus have Larxene's iPod?" Vincent wondered.

"Hell if I know." Axel shrugged. "I'm just getting sick of seeing her."

* * *

Darkness enveloped the competition field, but that didn't stop the Twilight High marching band and colour guard from rehearsing. After all, they needed to be in top shape if they were going to defeat Hollow Bastion.

Roxas stood at his keyboard, listening to the orchestrated version of _Killer Likes Candy_. Cid, being the typical director that he was, decided that they would have several popular songs in their competition. While I Am Ghost might find it shameful that their music was being performed on the grassy field, it certainly made for interesting music. Zack and Axel certainly enjoyed the song, since I Am Ghost was well known for their guitar chords.

Since the keyboards played the part of the vocals, Roxas was almost always busy for the duration of the song, the only exception seeming to be the beginning when Axel and Zack had a solo-esque intro with their guitars.

As the song reached its conclusion, Roxas had to find it very exhilarating. Few knew that the blonde loved music like this. Well, in its original form. It was something he liked to keep secret, since he didn't want the whole world to know everything about him. As Zack and Axel started their solo at the end, Roxas watched Zack's hand race up and down the neck of the guitar, creating the chords that were oh so harmonious. Axel clearly loved the experience as well. He wanted to be on the drums for this particular song, but Cid needed another guitar.

Roxas played the last few chords on his keyboard before the song finally ended. The field became silent as they waited for Cid to give his opinion of the song.

"It's certainly come a long way." Cid said.

"So it doesn't suck anymore?" Riku asked as Axel made his way back to the percussion platform, strumming segments of _The Kiss of Dawn_ as he went.

"There are still some bad parts, but it's ready for performance." Cid said. "What do you guys think?"

"You're asking for our opinion?" Kadaj questioned, his eyebrows raised in amusement. "You never let us give our opinion."

"Of course I do!" Cid exclaimed.

"Not usually, sir." Zexion said, drumming his fingers on his clarinet from where he stood next to Reno.

"Well, whatever." Cid waved off the comment. "Just be back here at eleven thirty tomorrow morning. So be awake and productive before then, Axel!" he yelled to the redhead on the percussion platform.

"Yeah, yeah." Axel opened his guitar case and gently set the instrument inside before closing it up again.

"Roxas!" Sora came dashing up to the platform, his tenor sax in his hand.

"What, no Riku?" Axel quipped, noticing the absence of Sora's boyfriend.

"He's putting his oboe away." Sora told the pyro before facing his brother. "Roxas, I need to talk to you."

"About what?" Roxas wondered.

"Just come on." Sora grabbed his twin by the arm and dragged him off the platform. "I need to put my sax away."

"Couldn't you have done that before you got me?" Roxas raised an eyebrow.

"I need to talk to you _alone_." Sora emphasized the last word.

"Wow. This is rare for you, Sora." Roxas said.

"I'm serious." And Sora's tone was indeed serious.

"So what's up?" Roxas asked. "Problems with Riku?"

"It's about you and Axel." Sora said.

"Me and Axel?" Roxas frowned. "What about him?"

"Cloud says that you two aren't getting along very well at all." Sora carefully slid the sax reed in its case.

"That's a bit of an understatement." Roxas said, thinking about his argument with the redhead earlier that afternoon.

"Has he ever acted…strangely around you?" Sora was trying to be inconspicuous.

"Unless you count ignoring me as strange, then no." Roxas said. "Why?"

"Oh, it's nothing." Sora said.

"You're hiding something, Sora." Roxas smiled. "You know you're a terrible liar."

"I am, aren't I?" Sora was smiling too as he closed up his saxophone case.

"So what is it?" Roxas asked.

"Well, have you seen the way he looks at you?" Sora faced his brother.

"Um…no?" Roxas' response was a question. "He doesn't look like he's trying to kill me, does he?"

"No, I can't figure out what it is." Sora replied as he started to walk up the field. "I've never seen anyone look at someone they way he looks at you."

"Is it bad?" Roxas wondered.

"No, definitely not. Like I said, I don't know how to describe it." Sora said. "It's kind of like a 'I want to be your friend' look with a _tiny_ bit of an 'I hate you' look."

"Yeah, that's comforting." Roxas laughed. "I don't think Axel and I are ever going to be friends or anything like that."

"Is this because of Hayner?" Sora stopped and faced his brother.

"What about Hayner?" Roxas frowned, surprised at his twin's mention of his former boyfriend.

"Because of your break-up with Hayner?" Sora clarified.

"That was months ago, Sora!" Roxas exclaimed.

"But you've never tried to get back with anyone." Sora explained.

"Maybe I don't want to be with anyone." Roxas pointed out.

"And I've seen the way you look at Axel, too." Sora said, slightly out of the blue.

"Really." Roxas didn't believe Sora for a minute.

"The expression in your eyes is just as weird as Axel's." Sora continued.

"You're not good at reading people, are you?" Roxas smiled.

"That's not the point!" Sora exclaimed.

"Then what is?" Roxas sighed.

"I just want to see you happy, Roxas." Sora said. "Maybe Axel could give you a chance to feel normal again."

"I feel normal now and I like being this way." Roxas hated lying to his twin, but he knew it had to be done. "And Axel and I will never be anything more than enemies."

"If you say so." Sora said before looking around the field and saying, "Where did everyone go?"

"They left." Roxas said, observing the fact the field was deserted. "Long ago, I imagine."

"Oh." Sora looked quite surprised indeed.

"So is that all you wanted to talk about?" Roxas said.

"You really like being alone?" Sora asked out of curiosity as he followed his twin across the field. "You don't want to be with anyone?"

"Why is it such a big deal anyway?" Roxas wondered. "Some people just like being alone."

"You never used to be like that." Sora shook his head. "You used to be really outgoing, remember?"

"Yeah, when I was a kid." Roxas replied. "I'm not a kid anymore, Sora."

"I know. I just feel that I'm not doing my job as a brother." Sora said.

"Brothers aren't supposed to set their brothers up with dates." Roxas said. "Maybe I'll find someone. If I do, you'll know."

"Oh, I will." Sora said. "I'll make you tell me."

"No way, Sora." Roxas scowled.

"Well, I'm going to find Riku." Sora said. "See you around, Roxas."

"Later, Sora." Roxas nodded as he left his brother for the cabin.

He had expected everyone to be inside when he returned since he had left the competition field deserted. He _didn't _expect to see the scene before him when he opened the door.

Demyx and Cloud were playing poker on the floor with Zack watching nearby. Vincent was listening to something on his iPod, his crimson eyes staring at the ceiling as he lay sprawled out on his bed. Axel sat on his bed with a bottle of isopropyl alcohol and a sewing needle before him.

"What are you doing now?" Roxas wasn't sure he wanted the answer to his question.

"Where were you?" Axel wondered.

"Why do you care?" Roxas flopped down on his bed and flipped over on his stomach facing the redhead. "And you didn't answer my question."

"I'm piercing my ear." Axel replied with complete nonchalance.

"You're doing _what_ now?" Roxas was very shocked indeed.

"I had no part in this!" Zack exclaimed quite randomly.

"That was a bit random, ay?" Cloud rested his head on Zack's shoulder.

"Well, he's going to think I had something to do with it." Zack told his boyfriend.

"But you didn't." Vincent said, cycling through the songs on his iPod.

"Why are you piercing your ear, Axel?" Roxas demanded, ignoring the other conversation in the room.

"Because the hole closed up." Axel said. "I've done it before. I know what I'm doing."

"Whatever you say." Roxas was somehow curious to see if the drummer would really go through with his plan.

After dousing the needle with more alcohol, Axel cleaned it off with a cotton ball before checking the nearby mirror and ramming the pointy object through his earlobe.

"And it doesn't hurt?" Roxas questioned, noticing that Axel didn't flinch in the slightest.

"Nope." Axel said. "I'm trying to convince my mum to let me get my lip done, but she's not letting me."

"No wonder." Roxas rolled his eyes.

"That'd hurt, wouldn't it?" Demyx chimed in.

"Probably not." Zack shrugged. "My cousin got it done and he didn't complain about it."

"Hey, Roxas, why don't you get yours done?" Cloud faced the other blonde.

"Not with Axel holding the needle." Roxas' cerulean eyes grew wide at the very thought.

"I'll clean it first." Axel told him.

"I'd certainly hope you would." Roxas said.

"Axel did mine and he didn't stab me." Demyx said, gesturing to the silver star that was in his earlobe.

"What, do you get a kick out of stabbing people?" Roxas turned to the redhead, who was putting an emerald stud in the newly pierced hole.

"I know how do it and he wanted it done." Axel shrugged.

"If he didn't stab Demyx, he wouldn't stab you, Roxas." Vincent said, now sitting up.

Roxas was clearly thinking otherwise, but he said, "Okay…"

"That's more like it." Axel nodded. "So do you want cartilage or what?"

"Just the lobe." Roxas said. "Left ear."

"Okay, just show me where you want it." Axel said, walking over to the blonde with the mirror and a pen.

"Here, I guess." Roxas pointed to a spot on his ear after studying his reflection in the mirror.

"All right, then." Axel said as he grabbed another needle and doused it with the alcohol.

"You brought two needles?" Zack mused.

"I figured that someone would want theirs done while I was here." Axel shrugged.

"Wait, you need something to stick in the hole, don't you?" Demyx frowned.

"He can use one of my old ones." Axel said.

"After you sterilize it first." Roxas chimed in.

"Of course." Axel rolled his eyes as he made his way back over to the blonde. "Ready?"

"I guess so." Roxas shrugged.

"It might sting a bit." Axel said as he set the needle by the skin.

Roxas felt Axel's fingers on his earlobe, which was slightly unnerving since he didn't usually like people touching him. But the fingers weren't shaking or showing any other signs of nervousness, so that made Roxas feel a little better about the whole ordeal.

A sharp sting went through Roxas' earlobe as the needle pierced the skin, but it was over in seconds. He expected blood to be coming from the new hole, but didn't find any.

"Don't go touching it." Axel said. "You don't want it to get infected, do you?"

"Of course not." Roxas said, carefully catching the silver hoop that Axel had thrown him. "You cleaned it, right?"

"Duh." Axel rolled his eyes. "Just turn it every now and then, okay?"

"Yeah, sure." Roxas said, sticking the earring in place.

"Man, it's red, Roxas." Cloud smiled.

"You know it's supposed to be like that." Axel scowled at the other blonde. "You're going to freak him out."

"No, I'm not!" Cloud protested.

"Whatever." Axel said. "So what now?"

"I'd better head back." Zack stood up from the floor. "I think it's almost curfew anyway."

"Well, see you tomorrow, then." Demyx said as Zack made his way out of the cabin.

"Today was pretty exhausting, wasn't it?" Vincent turned off his iPod and stuck it in his backpack.

"What do you expect with two rehearsals?" Cloud shrugged.

"I'm gonna play my DS for a while, okay?" Roxas said.

"Do you ever do anything else?" Axel faced the blonde with an amused expression on his face.

"Of course, idiot." Roxas rolled his eyes.

While he was playing his video game, Roxas was really thinking about his conversation with Sora. What had Sora been talking about? Axel never looked at him strangely. Taking his eyes off the screen, Roxas saw Axel texting on his cell phone, the angled eyes focused. And why was Axel looking at him in the first place? Could he be hiding something? Something that he didn't want Roxas to know?

**Oooh, lots of good stuff. I hope it isn't getting too boring. And I thank everyone who's given me their stories from their own band camp experiences. It's really helped a lot. Reviews equal love!**

**next chapter: a fight amongst the colour guard. **


	4. I Hate Everything About You

**Disclaimer: I really don't own anything mentioned.**

**Hallo! It's Xero! I'm glad everyone's liking this story. Does everyone know that this isn't going to be a long story? It's not going to be like ECHO, anyway. I'm planning on this having about fifteen chapters. There could always be more, though. ^_^ on with the deadly tale!**

The morning of the third day of band camp found Roxas just waking up after a somewhat peaceful night of sleep. It was hard to get a full night's sleep when Demyx kept snoring so loudly to wake the dead and Vincent talking in his sleep.

Opening his cerulean eyes, Roxas found that the cabin was empty, something that didn't really surprise the blonde. Checking his cell phone for the time, he was relieved to know that he still had a few hours before the morning rehearsal was to commence. He was a morning person, which greatly contrasted with Sora, who was as much of a night owl as one could get, and Roxas didn't like to stray from his routine very much.

The cabin door opened and Axel sauntered in, headphones in his ears, listening to something on the crimson iPod. Roxas couldn't tell what the redhead was listening to, but he could definitely hear the heavy bass and thrashing drums.

"About time you wake up, Roxas." Axel smiled as he flopped down on his bed.

"You're up before I am." Roxas noted. "This is a surprise."

"Cloud woke me up when he tripped over the sitar." Axel explained. "Once I'm up, I can't go back to sleep."

"Which is a great surprise." Roxas muttered under his breath.

"You didn't hear Demyx's cell phone go off this morning, did you?" Axel wondered as he picked up his guitar and started to play a few chords of _Enter Sandman_.

"No." Roxas shook his head. "Should I?"

"I guess not." Axel shrugged. "Zexion just wanted to talk to Demyx about something."

"Those two have been spending a lot of time together, haven't they?" Roxas mused.

"It's weird, isn't it?" Axel's peridot eyes looked confused.

"Yeah, since they never really talked before." Roxas nodded, watching Axel's fingers move up and down the guitar.

"Hey, do you still talk to Hayner?" Axel wondered, looking right at Roxas.

"Yeah…" Roxas replied slowly. "Why?"

"I just didn't know if you still talked to him after you two broke up." Axel started to play _I Don't Love You_.

"How did you know I was going out with him?" Roxas frowned.

"I could tell. I'm good at reading people." Axel smiled, causing Roxas' heartbeat to speed up. "And I think everyone knew."

"I didn't think you paid attention." Roxas said, avoiding eye contact with the redhead.

"It wasn't hard to notice, Roxas." Axel said. "I just haven't seen you with him in a while."

"Well, it's kind of hard to see him since he's in the show choir and I'm in the marching band." Roxas said.

"That complicates things a bit." Axel nodded.

"Yeah…" Roxas said.

Roxas and Axel simply stared at each other for a few seconds while the cabin was filled with an awkward silence. What do you say after a conversation like that? Roxas quickly looked away, realizing that he'd been staring at Axel for far too long, whilst Axel simply resumed playing the guitar. But when Roxas stole a second glance, he thought Axel was acting a bit more nervous than he had previously been.

"Well, this is rare!" Reno exclaimed as he burst through the door with Cloud not far behind him.

"What is, Reno?" Axel rolled his eyes.

"You two aren't yelling at each other, yo!" Reno explained.

"How would you know?" Roxas furrowed his eyebrows. "You're never here."

"Oh, I hear all I need to from Cloud, yo." Reno said.

"Well, we _were_ having a civil conversation before you two idiots showed up." Axel glared at his twin and Cloud.

"About what?" Cloud wondered.

"Does it really matter?" Axel clearly knew that Hayner was a difficult subject for Roxas.

"Of course it does!" Reno exclaimed, looking absolutely astounded.

"I'd love to know what you two have in common." Cloud was rummaging through his sheet music as he spoke.

"We have absolutely nothing in common." Roxas said.

"Well, I'm still waiting for another argument." Cloud said. "These good times won't last."

"They aren't good anyway." Axel retorted. "We still hate each other and we're still arguing."

"Why are you two here, anyway?" Roxas demanded.

"I actually wanted to speak with my brother." Reno said.

"About what?" Axel sighed, annoyed by the actions of his twin.

"Something private, yo." Reno said, pulling Axel out of bed and dragging him out the door to the busses a few yards away from cabin six.

Axel instantly felt hesitant about Reno's conversation. Reno almost never had a serious conversation with anyone. He was so carefree it was almost criminal. When Reno got serious, he meant business and it was usually something he felt strongly about.

"So what is it, Reno?" Axel asked.

"I'm assuming what's going on between you and Roxas is true." Reno said. "I've seen the two of you at rehearsals and it doesn't look good."

"Why does it matter?" Axel folded his arms across his chest, his stance becoming agitated. "It's not like I care about him."

"Or do you?" Reno looked sceptical.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Axel demanded.

"I've seen the way you look at him, yo. It's not the way you would look at Wakka or Selphie." Reno said.

"Why would I be looking at Selphie, anyway?" Axel looked revolted. "You know I can't stand her."

"That's not the point." Reno said.

"Then what _is_ the point, Reno?" Axel was growing impatient.

"You look at him the way Riku looks at Sora, yo." Reno said. "Or the way you used to look at Larxene."

"Don't bring her into this." Axel snapped, his peridot eyes becoming slits. "You know we broke up."

"But do you get what I'm saying, yo? You obviously don't hate Roxas as much as you think you do." Reno said. "You hated Larxene and you ended up going out with her."

"And look where that landed me." Axel retorted. "Absolutely nowhere."

"Look, all I'm saying is to think about your actions, yo." Reno said. "Things aren't always what they seem."

"You think I don't know that?" Axel raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not going to say what I think about this whole thing." Reno said defiantly. "I'm not going to influence the outcome."

"Like you ever influence anything in my life, Reno." Axel rolled his eyes.

"And I'm going to find out what's going on anyway, yo." Reno said. "And I can always tell."

"Not always." Axel said as he headed back to the cabin.

When he returned, he found that Demyx had returned from wherever he had been. Axel had hoped that the sitarist would be gone for several hours, but that clearly wasn't going to happen.

"Where were you, Demyx?" Axel wondered as he picked up his guitar once again.

"Talking with Zexion." Demyx nodded happily.

"What's going on with you two, anyway?" Roxas asked as he pulled on a pair of jeans. "You've been talking a lot lately."

"Oh, no reason." But Demyx obviously looked happy about something.

"What's going on, Demyx?" Axel frowned.

"You'll see!" Demyx grinned.

At that moment, Rikku and Yuna stormed into the cabin with Olette not far behind them. Yuna and Rikku were glaring at each other with murderous intent and Olette clearly wanted to be anywhere but with the other two.

"Well, what is it this time?" Axel was starting to get annoyed with all the interruptions.

"Did any of you see Yuna take my _High School Musical_ pen?" Rikku demanded.

"No." the boys chorused.

"Well, I can't find it!" Rikku glared at Yuna.

"Wait, you're telling me that this is all because of a _pen_?!" Roxas could hardly believe what he was hearing.

"That's right." Olette wasn't happy.

"The world has officially gone mad." Axel announced as the peridot eyes rolled to the ceiling.

"I just want to know where my pen is!" Rikku yelled.

"And I didn't steal it!" Yuna screamed in response.

"Did either of you ask Zexion?" Roxas asked.

"We can't find him." Olette answered, since Yuna and Rikku were too busy glaring at each other to respond. "He's been with Demyx for hours."

"You mean the Demyx that's right here?" Axel pointed to the sitarist, who gave a small hyperactive wave in response.

"Yeah, that'd be him." Olette said.

"Well, we have no idea where it is." Roxas said.

"Hey, where's Cloud?" Axel asked, noting the other blonde's disappearance.

"He went to go find Tidus and Pence." Roxas answered.

"That doesn't matter!" Yuna snapped.

"Calm down, Yuna." Olette said, though she seemed very agitated herself. "We'll find it."

"Until then, get your insanity out of the cabin." Axel said, shoving the girls out the door.

"That wasn't forceful, now was it?" Roxas rolled his eyes.

"I'm bored." Demyx proclaimed.

"So why don't you do some homework or something?" Axel suggested, pulling out his laptop.

"I don't wanna do homework." Demyx whined.

"Just deal with it." Axel snapped. "I had AP Macro _and_ AP Stats to do."

"I didn't know you were in Macro, Axel." Roxas pulled out the DS again.

"Are you implying something, Roxas?" Axel questioned, a definite edge in his voice.

"I didn't say anything." Roxas wasn't looking directly at the redhead.

"Yes, you did!" Axel exclaimed. "You said you didn't know I was in Macro!"

"That doesn't mean anything." Roxas retorted.

"Did you think I wasn't smart enough to get into it?" Axel challenged.

"Intelligence has nothing to do with it." Roxas retaliated.

"Oh no…" Demyx sighed as the fray began to unfold.

"Well, you couldn't expect someone like Yazoo or Wakka to be in Macro, now could you?" Axel's eyes were glaring at the computer screen in front of him.

"Yazoo barely passed eighth grade!" Roxas snapped, feeling the anger rise. "There's no way he'd be in anything AP."

"See?" Axel grinned deviously.

"You're absolutely insane." Roxas proclaimed.

"And how do I know that you're not?" Axel challenged.

"Because I actually have a _life_, Axel." Roxas narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"A life that only exists in that stupid DS of yours." Axel said.

"As opposed to yours being on your computer?" Roxas shot back.

"Okay, stop it!" Demyx screeched at the top of his lungs.

The cabin grew silent as Roxas and Axel turned and stared at the sitarist, who was breathing quite heavily, obviously trying to remain calm in the disarray.

"I have tried to keep quiet about this whole thing, but I can't take it anymore!" Demyx yelled. "I can't stand having two of my friends yelling at each other all day long!"

"So?" Axel challenged, obviously feeling rebellious.

"So stop it!" Demyx yelled.

"What's going on in here?" Cid burst through the door, clearly agitated. "I can hear you all from the practice field!"

"Axel and Roxas were just arguing, sir." Demyx pointed at the blonde and redhead.

"No kidding?" Cid rolled his eyes. He faced Roxas and Axel and said, "Now I know that the two of you seem to hate each other with a passion, but try to save it until after the competition. It's annoying everyone else. Do I make myself clear?"

Surprised by Cid's seldom-used teacher voice, Roxas and Axel both responded by saying, "Yes."

"That's more like it." Cid looked around at the dishevelled room and said, "Do you boys ever clean up in here?"

"It's all Demyx, Cid." Axel said, retreating to his bed and pulling out his iPod.

"Well, Demyx, looks like you need to clean up a bit." Cid said before he left.

At that moment, Vincent, Cloud and Zexion entered the cabin very cautiously. It appeared that Cid hadn't been the only one to hear Roxas and Axel's argument and it was a wise decision to see if the coast was clear before making their appearance.

"Are you guys done?" Cloud asked hesitantly.

"Yeah." Axel said with a nod.

"Zexion!" Demyx exclaimed, looking absolutely delighted.

"What's gotten into you, Demyx?" Cloud wondered.

"You never used to act like this." Vincent commented, taking out his German homework once again.

"There's a reason for that." Zexion replied, to which Demyx responded by blushing furiously.

"God, Demyx, what's wrong with you?" Axel wondered, looking at the sitarist in confusion.

"N-nothing." Demyx grinned, following the silver-haired teen out of the cabin.

"He's lying." Roxas grabbed his DS and started to play _The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass_.

"No kidding?" Axel rolled his eyes.

"Okay, calm down." Vincent said. "We don't want a repeat of a few minutes ago."

"You heard us?" Roxas asked.

"I think the whole camp heard you guys." Cloud said, pulling out his PSP.

"Well, that's fucking great." Axel swore.

"I can't find _Final Fantasy XI!_" Cloud exclaimed.

"Cloud, _Final Fantasy XI_ isn't for PSP." Vincent told him.

"I knew that." Cloud said sarcastically.

"Yeah, whatever." Axel said.

He didn't pay attention to the conversation as Roxas started talking about something from his video game. Something about Linebeck at the Temple of the Sun King. Axel's eyes were on the blonde keyboardist. Something about Roxas was confusing the hell out of him and he wished the band camp would be over with so the confusion would go away.

**I hope this isn't boring anyone...A special hug goes out to everyone who's helped me out with their band camp stories. They sound amazing! Reviews equal love!**

**next chapter: truth or dare?**


	5. Dirty Little Secret

**Disclaimer: I own nothing mentioned.**

**Konnichiwa! It's Xero! I thank the many reviewers for this story! It's nice to know that this has been recieved better than the original. This is a nice LONG chapter for you guys: just over twelve pages. Just so you know, this has broken my record for longest anything written. anyway, on with the deadly tale!**

The first afternoon rehearsal had left many of the marching band/colour guard feeling exhausted. Zack and Axel certainly gotten a work out as they tried to get their footing right for _Enemy Unseen_. The clarinets and flutes had a hard time working on_ Sacred Moon_ and _Jenova Absolute_ was a living hell for everyone.

After trudging back to the cabin, Axel decided that he would take a hard-earned nap since he'd have to be re-energized for the second rehearsal that afternoon. Sephiroth had requested Cid's presence at the show choir's rehearsal and Cid couldn't really turn Sephiroth down.

Axel had slept for about forty-five minutes when he heard a voice in the cabin. The strange thing was that no one was answering the voice or responding to it in any way. Opening his eyes a little, Axel saw that Cloud was on his cell phone, whispering softly into the speaker.

"Yeah, it doesn't look good right now…just about all the time, yeah…well, I don't know what to do about it. I can't figure out what makes them start fighting and it's as hard as hell to get them to stop." Cloud was whispering into the phone.

It didn't take a genius for Axel to figure out what Cloud was talking about. Cloud was telling someone about his frequent fights with Roxas.

"I really don't know what to do anymore. Demyx has tried just about everything he can think of and Vincent's run out of ideas." Cloud paused while he listened to the person on the other line. "No, I don't think Axel's ever had a girlfriend. She could talk some sense into him…well, obviously not, Zack, if she doesn't exist."

That was a tad unusual. It was a good sign that Axel's relationship with Larxene was still under the radar, but it was only a matter of time before someone figured out, even though Axel knew that he had to tell them sometime.

"I guess we'll just see what happens…well, there's not much else we can do, Zack. I just hope they don't kill each other before this thing is over." Cloud said. "Okay, I'll see you later."

As soon as Cloud closed the phone shut, Axel shut his eyes again, making sure that Cloud thought that he was asleep. Cloud remained in the cabin for a few more minutes before leaving. Once the blonde left, Axel sat up and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. If Cloud was getting involved, things had to be getting bad.

* * *

Roxas heard the gravel crunch beneath his feet as he walked from the Mess Hall to cabin six. The keyboardist had been playing Chinese Checkers with Tifa, Kadaj, Marluxia and Luxord before Tifa and Luxord had to go to their rehearsal. It really got annoying having friends in show choir since the rehearsals were always at different times.

He was about to make his way to the cabins when Roxas saw Hayner standing by the busses, clearly waiting for the blonde. Roxas hadn't seen Hayner in a while, but he looked exactly the same as he had when they broke up. His blonde hair was still standing on end, but the chocolate eyes looked a little different. They had an expression that Roxas had never seen in them before. Was it regret?

"What are you doing here, Hayner?" Roxas asked as he approached his former boyfriend.

"I wanted to talk to you." Hayner said, hands in his pockets.

"About what?" Roxas wondered.

"I wanted to make sure that we're still cool and all." Hayner avoided looking into Roxas' eyes. "We haven't really talked since we broke up and I don't really like it like that."

"Do you think I'm mad at you?" Roxas asked.

Hayner's reaction was proof enough. "Yeah…"

"How could I possibly be mad at you for something that never happened, Hayner?" Roxas wondered.

"I dunno. I just don't want it to be like this." Hayner explained. "I never wanted us to be a couple that didn't talk after we broke up."

"I fully intend on being friends, if that's okay with you." Roxas smiled.

"Seriously?" Hayner looked surprised.

"We were friends before." Roxas shrugged. "I don't see any reason why we can't be now."

"Well, that's a relief." Hayner smiled.

"Hey, don't you have rehearsal right now?" Roxas wondered.

"Yeah…" Hayner said guiltily.

"Sephiroth's going to be mad at you." Roxas said.

"I know." Hayner said. "I wanted to see you, I guess."

"It was great to see you, too, Hayner." Roxas nodded.

"Well, better not keep Sephiroth waiting." Hayner said as he headed toward the show choir arena. "See ya, Roxas."

"Later, Hayner." Roxas waved as the other blonde sprinted off.

He felt odd, considering the fact that he hadn't really talked to Hayner since their break-up. And he completely agreed with him. He didn't want them to be a couple that never spoke again. They'd been too close before to let that happen.

As he made his way to cabin six, Roxas heard a guitar playing something that sounded strangely like soft-rock which Roxas found peculiar. No one in the band liked soft-rock, that was common knowledge. Sure, Kairi and Naminè listened to soundtrack stuff and Paine was into country, but no one liked soft-rock.

Opening the cabin door, Roxas found Axel on his bed, guitar in his lap, the fingers strumming the strings ever-so gently. He was singing softly to himself, catching Roxas by surprise. Axel always played his guitar, but he never sang. And he sounded really good, making Roxas wonder why he didn't sing more often.

_Everybody knows the end when the curtain hits the floor. Everybody knows the end. Don't wanna get there wishing that you'd given more. It's not over till it's over, so how do we begin? Everybody knows the end…_

Axel must have noticed that Roxas was there because he stopped playing. He didn't look embarrassed like many did if someone had heard them singing, but he _did_ look slightly anxious.

"What was that?" Roxas asked.

"_The End_ by McFly." Axel replied. "Why?"

"I've never heard you sing before." Roxas sat down on his bed, facing the redhead.

"That's because I don't like my voice." Axel said, acting a tad more nervous than he had previously been.

"I like it." Roxas said honestly.

"So where were you?" Axel wondered with a look of suspicion in his peridot eyes.

"Playing Chinese Checkers with the guys and talking with Hayner." Roxas said.

For one reason or another, Axel looked more suspicious after Roxas' statement. "Why?"

"He just wanted to make sure we're still cool." Roxas said with a shrug, lying down on his side so he could still talk with the redhead.

"And are you?" Axel asked as he resumed playing the guitar.

"Yeah. We haven't had a chance to talk for a while and he thought I was mad at him." Roxas explained, brushing a strand of hair from his cerulean eyes. "I think he was freaking out about it."

"Why?" Axel was asking more questions than he usually did.

"He wanted us to be friends after we broke up and he thought that I didn't want that." Roxas said. "I guess we kind of had 'the break-up talk' in the span of thirty seconds."

"You mean the 'post break-up talk'." Axel made air-quotes with his fingers.

"I guess so, yeah." Roxas nodded.

At that moment, a very annoyed Saix and an even more annoyed Aeris stomped into the cabin. Saix looked like he'd just come out of a rainstorm whilst Aeris simply looked angry at the blue-haired teen.

"What is it this time?" Axel demanded.

"Did you see Aeris set a trap in our cabin?" Saix demanded.

"Why would we?" Roxas frowned. "We don't go anywhere near your cabin."

"Saix thinks that I set a bucket of water on top the door to drop on him when he walked inside." Aeris glared at Saix. "Even though I told him it was Selphie and Pence."

"Why do you think its Aeris, Saix?" Roxas sighed.

"Because it's the sort of thing she'd do!" Saix exclaimed.

"Are you kidding?" Axel raised an eyebrow. "I think you have her confused with Larxene or Tidus."

"Well, Tidus was playing basketball with Reno, Wakka and Xigbar when I got drenched." Saix glared at Aeris. "And Larxene was doing homework with Xion, Kairi and Yuffie."

"But they could have set it up _before_ they were doing other things, you know." Axel informed him, strumming a few chords of _Jesus Christ RNR_.

"But that's not possible!" Saix shouted.

"Saix, unless you've been in your cabin since the day began, and you haven't because you were at rehearsal where you _should _be now, then there's a possibility that someone set it up without you knowing." Roxas said, starting to get annoyed with the ochre-eyed teen. "And Aeris is probably innocent."

"Exactly." Aeris nodded.

Fortunately for Roxas and Axel, Xaldin came through the door and, upon seeing Saix and Aeris, said, "Guys, Sephiroth is _not_ in a good mood today."

That was all the information that Aeris and Saix needed before bolting out of the room with Xaldin not far behind him. Roxas turned to Axel and said, "I guess Sephiroth's really evil when he's pissed."

"I would imagine." Axel nodded. "Now…what were we talking about?"

"The polar ice caps?" Roxas suggested.

"No, I don't think that was it." Axel smiled, causing the butterflies to erupt in Roxas' stomach again.

"I _should_ be working on my Latin homework." Roxas pulled his backpack towards him.

"Well, I have nothing to do right now." Axel shrugged, now playing _Gott ist ein Popstar_.

"Lucky you." Roxas glowered at the redhead for a minute before beginning his work.

"Hey, Roxas, Hayner is the only guy you've gone out with, right?" Axel wondered.

"Yeah." Roxas nodded slowly.

"And you've never gone out with a girl…" Axel mused.

"No." Roxas shook his head as he pulled out his Latin-English dictionary. "Why do you care?"

"I'm just wondering." Axel said, trying to make sure that his anxiety was well hidden.

* * *

Night had fallen and the competition field was completely deserted save for a few stray rabbits and chipmunks. Some broken reeds and sheet music littered the field, but there was no other sign that a band of rowdy teenagers had recently been using the practice area.

Roxas had just opened the door to cabin six, wondering what he'd do to take up the rest of the night, when he found the cabin inhabited by many more teenagers than he was used to. Cloud and Zack were on Cloud's bed, with Zack's arm wrapped protectively around his boyfriend. Axel was on his bed, too, with his guitar close by. Riku, Sora, Reno, Hayner, Rikku and Yuna were sitting in a circle in the centre of the cabin, looking very peculiar indeed.

"What the hell is going on?" Roxas demanded.

"It's Truth or Dare, Roxas." Sora replied, resting his head on Riku's shoulder. "Marching band version."

"Then why is Hayner here?" Roxas asked as he sat down next to his former boyfriend.

"Well, Kairi, Tifa and Olette were going to come, but Kairi and Tifa are spending some 'quality time' with each other and Olette has some American Studies homework to do." Rikku answered.

"So get your ass down here, Axel." Reno said, grabbing his brother by the wrist and pulling him to the ground.

"We're still waiting on Demyx and Zexion." Hayner told Roxas, who was looking confused.

"But why are we doing this?" Roxas wondered.

"It's a wonderful way to kill boredom." Zack grinned.

"Just like you to say that." Cloud smiled.

"Seriously, where are Demyx and Zexion, yo?" Reno demanded.

"Zexion had to talk to Cid about something." Yuna replied.

"Does anyone know what's going on with them?" Axel wondered. "Demyx has been acting weirder than usual."

"Well, Vexen and Marluxia have a theory, but we're not supposed to tell anyone." Rikku answered.

"Then why mention it at all?" Sora frowned.

"Yuna, where's Tidus?" Hayner wondered, noticing the absence of Yuna's boyfriend.

"He's studying with Luxord and Lexaeus." Yuna replied. "They have a huge test in Chemistry when they get back."

"That's it." Reno pulled out his cell phone. "I'm finding where they are, yo."

"They're probably coming, Reno." Axel grabbed his brother's cell phone.

"We're here!" Demyx announced as he and Zexion made their entrance.

"Told you." Axel smiled, tossing Reno's cell phone to the redhead.

"Was Cid in a ranting mood today?" Cloud wondered.

"Kind of." Zexion shrugged.

"So…who's going first?" Zack questioned.

"Alphabetically." Yuna nodded.

"Oh hell no!" Axel protested. "That means I'm going first."

"Very good, Axel." Rikku said sarcastically.

"Just go already." Roxas said.

"Okay…Cloud, truth or dare?" Axel asked.

"Knowing you, truth would probably be the lesser of the two evils." Cloud smiled.

"Have you ever…worn a dress?" Axel grinned.

"Of course not." Cloud shook his head. "Rikku, truth or dare?"

"Dare." Rikku grinned.

"I dare you…" Cloud said.

"To tell me to walk through fire…" Yuna started singing.

"Oh, shut it, Yuna." Sora smacked Yuna on the thigh.

"I dare you to jump up and down ten times." Cloud started.

"That's not that bad." Rikku shrugged.

"…while spinning around in a circle and yelling, 'I'm a butterfly'." Cloud finished.

"Why a butterfly?" Zack wondered, gazing at his boyfriend.

"It was the first animal that came to mind, okay?" Cloud rolled his eyes.

"Get going, Rikku." Hayner said, leaning gently against Roxas.

Rikku glared at Hayner for a moment before walking over to a secluded area of the room and taking off her platform boots, knowing it would be very stupid to jump up and down with them on. Just watching Rikku jumping up and down in a circle was amusing and that was without her added dialogue.

"It could have been worse." Roxas told her.

"You're up, yo." Reno told her.

"I know, I know." Rikku was lacing up her boots.

"Then get going!" Riku snapped.

"Demyx, truth or dare?" Rikku asked.

"Uh, truth I guess." Demyx said.

"Have you ever lied to a teacher about doing homework?" Rikku asked.

"Yep." Demyx nodded.

"Of course he has, Rikku." Axel ran his fingers through his wild spikes. "This _is_ Demyx we're talking about."

"Well, it as the first thing that came to mind." Rikku said.

"Zack, truth or dare." Demyx faced the obsidian-haired teen.

"Truth." Zack said.

"Wimp." Cloud muttered under his breath.

"Have you ever had sex in a public place?" Demyx asked.

"Almost but then this old lady caught us." Zack smiled.

"Geez, really?" Sora was amazed.

"Old ladies ruin all the fun." Axel rolled his eyes.

"When was this?" Cloud frowned.

"When we went looking for our outfits for the Homecoming last year." Zack said. "It was outside Kohl's, remember?"

"Oh yeah." Cloud smiled fondly at the memory.

"Roxas, truth or dare?" Zack asked.

"Dare." Roxas was feeling particularly devious.

"I dare you to prank-call Cid." Zack grinned.

"That's suicide, Zack." Hayner told him.

"Roxas could get away with it." Sora said. "He can disguise his voice really well."

"Well, then it might work, yo." Reno said.

"Does anyone know his number?" Roxas pulled out his phone.

"It's on mine." Zexion pulled out his phone. "He called me about my clarinet repairs."

Roxas entered the number into the phone and waited for it to ring. After ringing for a few seconds, Cid finally picked up and Roxas said, "Hello, my name is Claudius Centurion and I'm calling on the behalf of Parkers and Sons."

It was really quite amusing to listen to. Roxas had changed his voice so that he now sounded like a cross between Peter Petrelli from _Heroes_ and Dory from _Finding Nemo_.

"Yes, I just wanted to inform you that your car has been illegally parked in a fire lane on Cunningham Avenue…yes, sir, it has been towed and is our lot right-what profession am I?" Roxas looked at everyone for some sort of answer. Reno grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil and wrote something down before holding up the paper that read 'sewage treatment'. Roxas laughed and said, "I am working with the sewage treatment plant of Twilight Town…I'm just following my orders, sir…yes, you may have your wife retrieve the car. Thank you and have a good day."

"That was brilliant, Roxas." Riku smiled.

"Cid has a wife?" Axel frowned.

"Try not to think on it." Yuna replied.

"Zexion, truth or dare." Roxas asked the angst-like teen next to Demyx.

"Truth." Zexion said.

"How boring." Hayner complained as he put his arm around Roxas' shoulder.

Roxas had started to ask his question when he happened to see a strange look in Axel's eyes. It was almost like a cross between protectiveness and hopelessness. It was a strange look to see in Axel's eyes nonetheless.

Realizing that he'd been silent for too long, Roxas went on and asked his question. Everyone would start to get suspicious if he was quiet for too long for no reason.

"Who was your last significant other?" Roxas asked, knowing that nearly half of the marching band was gay/lesbian.

"I'm still going out with him." Zexion smiled, a rare event in itself.

"Ooh!" Rikku exclaimed. "Do tell!"

Zexion was silent for a minute before saying, "Demyx."

_That_ got everyone's attention. Riku looked mildly impressed while everyone else looked startled by this new piece of information.

"Are you serious?!" Yuna, Reno and Hayner said together.

"Uh-huh." Demyx nodded happily.

"That explains everything!" Axel exclaimed.

"What does?" Sora and Zack asked.

"Why Demyx has been acting so…happy lately." Axel said.

"But he's always happy." Zexion pointed out.

"Even more so than usual." Roxas clarified.

"You're really serious?" Riku still wanted to be sure he was hearing things right.

"Yep." Demyx grinned.

"So Vexen and Marluxia were right!" Rikku said.

"For once in their lives." Cloud said.

"That's what they were thinking?" Hayner frowned.

"Obviously." Yuna said.

"Sora…" Zexion wanted things to continue. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth." Sora said.

"Have you ever shoplifted?" Zexion wondered.

"Actually, yes." Sora nodded.

"Really?" Roxas was surprised. "Where?"

"At the grocery store." Sora answered. "I stole a pack of Skittles when I was four."

"That doesn't really count, yo." Reno said.

"I stole something, didn't I?" Sora pointed out.

"Just go already." Zack ordered.

"Yuna, truth or dare?" Sora asked.

"Dare." Yuna wasn't one to chicken out on things.

"I dare you to sing _The Stars and Stripes Forever_." Sora said. "While running around in a circle."

"Done." Yuna jumped to her feet and started her ridiculous challenge.

It was quite unusual to see Yuna running around very fast in a small circle. It was even more unusual to hear her singing at the same time. And Yuna was no Amy Lee, either. Yuna could be easily mistaken for a cat that's just had its tail stepped on.

"That was…interesting." Hayner said when the song ended a few minutes later.

"Oh, it wasn't that bad." Yuna protested as she sat back down.

"You weren't the one listening to it." Rikku still had her hands over her ears.

"Axel…" Yuna said. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth." Axel said. "I don't really care at the moment."

"Have you ever had a girlfriend?" Yuna asked.

Now _here_ was the dilemma. No one knew about his relationship with Larxene. Axel wasn't sure if he wanted people to know about his relationship with Larxene at that point in time. But they had broken up, so what could she possibly do to him?

"Yes." Axel nodded, to which nearly everyone responded by gasping.

"Are you serious, Axel?!" Sora was absolutely astounded.

"Um, yeah." Axel didn't see why it was such a big deal that he had a girlfriend. Was he really that unattractive?

"Do we know her?" Cloud wondered.

"Oh, I'd say you do." Axel nodded slowly.

"So who is she?" Hayner, Rikku, Yuna and Demyx demanded.

Axel hesitated for a moment before saying, "Larxene."

The result was almost the same as when Zexion announced that Demyx was his lover. The only difference was there were more gasps of horror and looks of disbelief.

"I never would have imagined that." Zack shook his head.

"Wait, Reno, did you know?" Demyx wondered.

"Of course, yo." Reno twisted a strand of hair around his index finger.

"So why didn't you tell us?" Rikku demanded.

"Because I didn't want you guys to know." Axel said, knowing that Reno really didn't want to talk about it.

"So when did you break up?" Hayner wondered, his arm still around Roxas.

"A few months ago." Axel said. "It wasn't working out."

"I still can't imagine it." Riku said.

At that moment, the door opened and Cid walked into the room saying, "Okay, why is everyone congregating in this particular cabin?"

"Truth or dare." Sora, Yuna, Hayner and Reno said.

"What are you all, third graders?" Cid questioned. "Anyway, curfew was ten minutes ago."

"Okay, okay." Zack said as he and nearly everyone else left the cabin with only Roxas, Axel, Cloud and Demyx remaining.

"So you and Zexion?" Cloud asked Demyx.

"I didn't think he'd say yes." Demyx nodded.

"Well, that's good." Cloud smiled.

Axel wasn't paying attention to Cloud and Demyx's conversation. He was focusing on Roxas. Roxas had been acting strangly since Axel confessed that Larxene had once been his girlfriend. But why would Roxas possibly care? Unless there was something Roxas wasn't telling him…

**What a chapter, huh? So much important stuff! And I hope I made some Zemyx fans happy. I'm actually liking the Zemyx pairing now. I hope I'm not focusing on Axel and Roxas too much...I'm sorry if I can't respond to everyone's review. I get so many and it takes up a lot of time. But I appreciate all that I get. ^_^ that being said, I have my own AP tests tomorrow, friday and tuesday, and it would be amazing if I could look forward to a lot of reviews. and I love reading everyone's band camp stories. It makes me wish i'd stuck with playing my clarinet. *sweatdrop* reviews equal love!**

**next chapter: debate with Riku and Sora**


	6. The Music or the Misery

**Disclaimer: As much as I'd love to, I don't own anything in this story. Then I'd REALLY make Axel and Roxas together. ^_^**

**Hallo! It's Mika-chan! I'm so glad everyone liked the last chapter! And this is going to be better, hopefully. I had my last AP test today so I can write more. Yea! On with the deadly tale!**

The show choir and colour guard quickly learned of the events in the seemingly innocent game of Truth or Dare. And as with all gossip, it spread like wildfire. It was quite astonishing for many to learn that Zexion and Demyx were now boyfriends and that Larxene and Axel had once been dating. The only one who didn't seem to care was Roxas, who simply walked away whenever the topic of Axel and Larxene's former relationship came up.

The fourth day of the band camp was as uneventful as it could get. Unless one counted Xaldin and Leon tripping Pence as he walked out of the cabin, causing him to fall into a pit of mud.

On the morning of the fifth day, Roxas trudged into the Mess Hall for some breakfast. He didn't usually eat breakfast, but Cloud had said that the pancakes were to die for. And he certainly was going to die, but not because they were good. The pancakes were so hard that Roxas could practically hit them on the plate and smash it to pieces.

Giving up on pancakes entirely, Roxas moved on to the scrambled eggs, which proved to be better than the pancakes had been. He had just started to pour maple syrup on them when Riku and Sora walked in. When Sora saw his twin, he whispered something to Riku before the silver-haired teen walked over to the breakfast line.

"What's up, Sora?" Roxas wondered when his brother sat down across the table from him.

"I want to talk to you." Sora said.

"You usually do." Roxas sighed. "What about in particular this time?"

"You've been acting weird since the Truth or Dare thing. And it's only around Axel." Sora was more attentive than most gave him credit for. "What's going on, Roxas?"

"Nothing." Roxas said through a mouthful of scrambled eggs.

"I don't think it's nothing, but if that's what you want me to think…" Sora said.

"Okay, there _is_ something, but I don't want to tell you." Roxas said, knowing that Sora would find out anyway.

"It's about Axel, isn't it?" How was Sora so good at figuring things out when he couldn't even find his shoes in the morning?

"No." Roxas lied easily. Lying came easier for him than it did for his twin.

"If you say so." Sora said and their conversation was forced to end since Riku showed up with a tray of breakfast food. "Look any good, Riku?"

"The usual." Riku shrugged, sitting down next to Roxas.

"When's rehearsal today?" Roxas asked the silver-haired teen as Sora went off to get breakfast.

"In an hour." Riku said. "Didn't you get the schedule?"

"I kind of lost it." Roxas grinned sheepishly.

"Geez, you're as bad as Axel." Riku rolled his eyes as he poured syrup on his waffles.

Roxas' stomach did a flip when Axel's name was brought into the conversation. Riku must have noticed the blonde's strange behaviour because he said, "You okay, Roxas?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Roxas assured him.

"You sure?" Riku frowned, drumming _Master Passion Greed_ on the table with his fingers.

"Why is everyone asking if I'm okay?" Roxas wondered.

"Because you've been acting weird ever since we got here." Riku said.

"Well, I'm sick of telling people I'm fine." Roxas said, even though he knew he wasn't fine.

"Okay, if you say so." Riku said.

"What's going on?" Kairi said as she came over to the table.

"Shouldn't you be at rehearsal?" Riku raised an eyebrow.

"Just finished." Kairi grabbed a piece of bacon from Roxas' tray.

"Come on, Kai." Roxas swatted her with a hash brown. "Go get your own food."

"I already ate." Kairi smiled.

"Then why are you still here?" Sora wondered as he ventured over to the table.

"Tifa's doing some homework for Modern World History." Kairi said glumly. "She gets mean when she's doing homework."

"But she was working with you and Larxene, wasn't she?" Roxas frowned.

"Because we're in the same class." Kairi explained. "I don't have Modern World History with her."

"Lucky you." Riku smiled.

"Well, I need to make sure Yuffie and Kadaj aren't setting that prank for Larxene and Xion." Kairi stood up and headed out the door.

"That was random." Roxas said.

"Indeed." Riku smiled.

"What's up, Roxas?" Roxas knew it was Hayner before his eyes were covered up.

"How's it going, Hayner?" Roxas smiled.

"I'm bored out of my mind." Hayner sat next to his former boyfriend. "And rehearsal just ended."

"Yeah, Kairi's just told us." Sora said. "But how can you be bored already?"

"I got all my homework done and my DS is charging." Hayner said, wrapping his arm around Roxas. "I have nothing to do."

"Go play some basketball with Tidus and Xaldin." Riku suggested as he shovelled a huge piece of a waffle in his mouth.

"You know I can't stand Xaldin." Hayner shuddered. "He's still mad that I turned him down."

"Still?!" Sora and Roxas said together.

"That was over a year ago, wasn't it?" Riku frowned.

"Yep." Hayner nodded, resting his head on Roxas' shoulder.

"He needs to forget about it." Roxas wrapped his arm around Hayner's shoulder.

"Well, you two are certainly lovey-dovey today." Riku observed. "Did you two get back together?"

"Roxas has always been this affectionate around me." Hayner shrugged. "Even before we were going out."

"Like you weren't like this before." Roxas smiled.

"You got me there." Hayner grinned.

Roxas was about to respond when he happened to look over to the north end of the cabin and see Axel looking at him with a peculiar expression in his eyes. It was the exact expression that he had when they were playing Truth or Dare.

What bothered Roxas the most was that he had no idea what the expression was called. It looked like a mix of protectiveness and something else that Roxas couldn't think of.

Apparently Roxas hadn't been the only one to see Axel because Riku said, "Why is Axel staring at you?"

"Hell if I know." Roxas shrugged the shoulder Hayner wasn't on.

"And why are you staring back?" Sora smiled.

"I wasn't, Sora." Roxas snapped.

"Looks like I have some competition." Hayner grinned.

"What, you want to go back out with me, Hayner?" Roxas smiled.

"No, but if I did, it looks like I'd have to fight Axel for you." Hayner said.

"Well, you won't have to worry about that, Hayner." Roxas took a sip of his orange juice. "Axel and I will never be anything besides bitter enemies."

"I'm just trying to figure out why he's acting weird around you, too." Riku finished his waffle in one bite.

"He's the same asshole he is every day." Roxas stabbed his pancake aggressively with his fork.

"Are you blind, Roxas?" Hayner looked the blonde in the eye.

"What are you _talking_ about?" Roxas looked at the other three in confusion.

"You really can't figure out why he's acting so weird around you?" Hayner couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"He isn't." Roxas said firmly.

"You _are_ blind, Roxas." Riku proclaimed.

"You don't think he's any different around you?" Hayner asked the blonde.

"Not really." Roxas shook his head.

"It's hopeless." Sora exclaimed, pretending to faint on Riku.

Scowling, Riku pushed his boyfriend off him and said, "Just spend a few hours with him today and pay attention to what he does."

"I'll be spending two hours with him on the field!" Roxas protested. "I get enough of him there!"

"Well, then suffer a little longer." Sora said as he munched on some bacon.

"If you spend a few hours with him and still can't see, then I'm telling you why I think he's acting weird around you." Hayner said.

"No!" Riku and Sora yelled, earning themselves several stares from the other teens in the room.

"Why not?" Hayner frowned. "It's not like he won't find out."

"You know Axel likes to keep to himself about things." Riku said very pointedly, so pointedly, in fact, that it was a miracle that Roxas didn't pick up on the secret right then and there.

"Shut it before he finds out, Riku!" Sora clasped his hand over his boyfriend's mouth.

"You guys are getting too weird for me." Roxas stood up. "I'm going to do some homework before rehearsal."

"Good luck with that." Sora said.

"Yeah, thanks." Roxas smiled before heading out.

As he walked by the door, he noticed that Axel wasn't there. He was probably playing poker with Reno and Vexen. At least he'd have the cabin to himself for a little while.

What had Riku, Sora and Hayner meant? The only weird thing Axel did was look at him when he thought that the blonde wasn't paying attention. That and the strange expression in his eyes that seemed to grow worse when he was with Hayner. But why would Hayner make any difference?

Roxas learned that apparently Axel wasn't playing poker with Reno and Vexen when he heard Axel's electric guitar from inside the cabin. He heard the flowing guitar chords even better when he was inside.

Axel was sitting on the floor, leaning against the foot of his bed, with his guitar in his lap. The usually peridot eyes were closed as if in concentration and he was swaying slightly to the song that he was playing. He apparently hadn't heard Roxas enter since the headphones were in his ears.

Roxas watched him for a few minutes, watched the fingers move up and down the neck of the guitar, watched his lips move as he silently sang the words to the unknown song. He would have watched him for a while if Axel hadn't noticed Roxas' presence. He pulled his headphones over his ears and let them rest around his neck and simply stared at Roxas for a few minutes before he finally spoke.

"What are you doing here?"

"I live here, Axel." Roxas replied before walking over to his bed. "What were you playing just now?"

"I don't know the English, but the Japanese is _Dōshite Kimi o Suki ni Natte Shimattandarō_by DBSK." Axel said a little nervously.

"I've never heard it before." Roxas said. "And did you loose your headphones?"

"No. Why?" Axel frowned, drumming his fingers along the neck of the guitar.

"You don't usually use those." Roxas gestured to the headphones wrapped around Axel's neck.

"I use these when I'm playing Sadie." Axel replied.

"Sadie?" Roxas questioned.

"Sadie." Axel repeated. "My guitar."

"You named your guitar?" Roxas raised an eyebrow as he pulled his Latin homework from his textbook.

"Hey, Frank Iero names his." Axel shrugged.

"But you're not Frank Iero." Roxas pointed out.

"What's with you and Hayner?" Axel wondered, clearly trying to be indifferent as he started playing the guitar again, chords from _Lips of an Angel_ filling the cabin.

"We're just friends." Roxas tapped his pencil to his chin as he thought about the difficult translation. "Why?"

"You seemed like a lot more than friends a few minutes ago." Did Roxas hear a touch of sadness in Axel's voice?

"I've always been like that around him even before we started going out." Roxas told him.

"Yeah, that's what they all say." Axel said, anger flashing in his peridot eyes.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" Roxas demanded, noticing the contempt in Axel's voice.

"Exes aren't supposed to be like that." Axel told him as the song disappeared. "Larxene and I certainly aren't."

"But Hayner and I aren't you and Larxene." Roxas said.

"Don't you see what he's trying to do?" Axel asked him, looking him in the eye.

"Apparently I don't." Roxas said crossly.

"He wants to get back with you." Axel told him.

"He would have said something." Roxas said immediately.

"There's more than one way to tell someone you love them." Axel said, sounding like he was surprised at what he was saying. "He's been telling you, Roxas, but you're not reading the signs."

"There _are_ no signs, Axel." Roxas snapped, debating whether or not he should throw the Latin textbook at the redhead. "Hayner and I broke up. We're finished."

"You've never heard of someone wanting to get back with their lover when it's clearly over?" Axel raised an eyebrow. "It hurts as much as being in love with someone who can never love you back."

"That has nothing to do with it." Roxas retorted. "And how would you know, anyway?"

"Because I wanted to get back with Larxene for a little while after we broke up." Axel said. "And I _am_ in love with someone who won't feel the same way about me."

"Oh yeah?" Roxas challenged. "Who?"

"Like I'm going to tell you that?" Axel rolled his eyes. "You just don't get it, do you?"

"Why is everyone treating me like a little kid lately?!" Roxas demanded.

"Maybe because you're acting like one." Axel supplied, putting his guitar back in the case.

"I want to know why everyone is being so weird around me." Roxas said. "It's like they're keeping a secret from me."

"Or maybe you're just paranoid." Axel's eyes were slits as he glared at the blonde.

"And you're only making it worse." Roxas said.

"Well, I'm glad to know I'm doing my part in this." Roxas could hear the hate in his voice.

"Whatever." Roxas said as he headed towards the door. "I can't take this anymore."

"Glad to hear it." Axel said and as Roxas left, the redhead couldn't help but feel that he was making the biggest mistake of his life.

**They're never going to get along, are they? And Hayner's getting suspicious...this could be interesting. Well, I MIGHT be using the DBSK song again since it's so perfect for this story, even if it's title only. ah well. reviews equal love!**

**next chapter: larxene wants to talk...**


	7. I Miss You

**Discalimer: I don't own anything mentioned, including the songs.**

**Hallo! It's Xero! Just ignore the Mika-chan from the last chapter. I just wrote it out of habit. This is a strange chapter, but it's an important one. So pay attention! on with the deadly tale!**

The whole camp heard about Axel and Roxas' fight, which wasn't hard to ignore. Axel apparently had yelled so loudly that those residing in cabin twelve could hear him. Marluxia thought that the dramatics were a bit overplayed, but Reno knew that Axel only yelled that loudly when he was really angry about something.

So the first afternoon rehearsal commenced with few problems. There _was_ the problem of Xigbar hiding Demyx's sitar just for fun. Cid wasn't happy about having to start rehearsal late, but he couldn't really do much without Demyx's infamous sitar.

The percussion section was very edgy. There was an obvious bit of tension between the keyboardist and the drummer/guitarist. Cloud and Yuffie kept looking at each other hesitantly throughout the duration of _Esper Battle_ and for most of _Hikari. _Things started to improve for _Battle Ignition_, however.

Zack had a cool guitar solo in the beginning, with the trumpets following behind him. Yuffie and Cloud kept a steady drum beat going throughout the duration of the song. It was obvious that Yuffie was bored since she kept dazing off.

The song had originally been written for the _Bleach_ soundtrack and, as such, didn't have much besides guitars and drums. So Cid had to improvise. He'd given Roxas the same part as the guitars, which sounded very strange indeed, and created extra parts for the rest of the band.

"I don't think this is what they had in mind when they came up with this song." Yuffie said when the song finished.

"Who is they?" Axel wondered as he traipsed up the steps.

"Whoever came up with the_ Bleach_ soundtrack." Yuffie said.

"Well, it's Cid's fault for ruining a perfectly good song." Roxas said, jumping down from his platform to help Cloud move the timpanis.

"Let's get going, people!" Cid roared from the stage. "We're doing _Rabanastre City!_"

"Good Lord, not that one." Yuffie moaned as she pretended to goose-step to the wind chimes.

"What's wrong with that?" Vexen asked, from where he heard Yuffie's complaining on the field.

"It's too cheerful." Yuffie whined.

"It makes me want to kill someone." Axel stuck out his tongue in disgust.

"I can think of someone _I'd_ like to kill." Roxas glared hatefully at Axel.

"Okay, that's enough." Cloud said. "Geez, I feel like I'm babysitting a bunch of five-year-olds."

"Poor Cloud." Axel pretended to be concerned as he marched back down the field and stood next to Zack.

Yuffie started the song with some notes of the xylophone before Axel and Zack started the guitar chords. The flutes came in with the clarinets later and Riku had a little oboe solo before Cloud's drumming could be heard. Roxas took the part of the guitars for this song again, which was no surprise to him. Loz's baritone was practically the main bass line for the entire song, save for Vexen's baritone sax.

The finale was stunning, consisting of some notes from Xigbar and Vincent on the trumpet with Sora's tenor sax and Kadaj's alto sax joining in.

"You can't say that hasn't improved, Cid." Reno yelled across the field.

"It's certainly improvement, I'll say that much." Cid said walking away from the clarinets.

"So what now?" Vincent asked warily from where he stood next to Xigbar.

"That's it." Cid proclaimed.

"Are you serious?" Reno and Axel questioned, though it sounded like one person was speaking.

"No, I was planning on holding you all here for sixty-two hours then releasing you." Cid was clearly being sarcastic.

"Sweet!" Demyx whooped as he jumped in the air.

"You didn't have much to do, Dem." Zexion joined his boyfriend a few seconds later. "What are you complaining about?"

"I was bored." Demyx snuggled against the other teen.

"Yo, Demyx!" Cloud yelled from the percussion platform. "How about some help?"

"You're asking Demyx to help load up equipment?" Roxas raised an eyebrow.

"Good point." Cloud said. "Disregard, Demyx."

"I'll help." Riku said, jumping onto the platform, ignoring the ramp in its entirety.

"Graceful, Riku." Roxas smiled as he carried the keyboard down the ramp.

"Graceful is what I'm made of." Riku proceeded to sliding Axel's amp from the platform.

"Yeah, sure." Axel smiled as he put his guitar in its case before helping Yuffie cart off the platform.

"So when do we practice tonight?" Marluxia asked the group as he passed the percussionists.

"There is no practice tonight." Axel said, crossing the platform to grab Zack's amp.

"Seriously?" Marluxia looked absolutely amazed.

"As serious as a heart attack." Cloud nodded. "I think we're done here."

"Yuffie, you need to get the glockenspiels!" Roxas yelled as he reappeared on the platform to retrieve his music.

"Yeah, I got it." Yuffie dashed back on to the platform.

"Hey, I'm gonna play Egyptian Rat Screw with Kairi, Loz, Selphie, Luxord and Tidus." Cloud said. "Anyone wanna come with?"

"I'm gonna play some Tetris." Roxas said. "Thanks for asking, though."

"No, thanks." Axel said. "I'm not really good at Egyptian Rat Screw."

"That's not what Reno says." Cloud smiled as he headed off the platform.

Axel was about to walk off the platform when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. Checking the message, he learned that the one who had texted him was Larxene. She had left two single words: Mess Hall.

Now that was strange. What could Larxene possibly want? She usually avoided talking to Axel at all costs. If she was texting him to meet her, then she must have something important.

When he arrived at the Mess Hall, Axel found that very few people were there. Some kids from Destiny Island were playing checkers and a group of kids from Hollow Bastion were reviewing for what appeared to be an upcoming Trigonometry test. After looking around, Axel's peridot eyes found Larxene in one corner of the cabin, her eyes on her cell phone.

"So what's up?" Axel asked as he sat down next to her.

"Oh, I'm just bored." Larxene closed her phone and shoved it in her pocket. "Kadaj and Lexaeus are in the cabin playing poker and they're driving me crazy."

"Sounds like Demyx." Axel said.

"Oh, it's worse than Demyx." Larxene told him.

"Really?" Axel's voice was full of disbelief. "Enlighten me."

"He keeps bringing that boyfriend of his over and it's driving me up the freaking wall." Larxene rolled her eyes.

"Wow, that's like what happens with Cloud and Zack." Axel paused for a moment before saying, "I kind of miss this."

"Miss what?" Larxene frowned, her green eyes confused.

"Talking like this with you." Axel said.

"Why?" Larxene wondered.

"I guess it reminds me of a time when things actually made sense." Axel ran his fingers through his wild spikes.

"Things don't make sense now?" Larxene started drumming her fingers on the table.

Axel hesitated before saying, "Not really."

"You _have_ been acting strangely lately." Larxene observed. "What's going on, Axel?"

Axel wasn't sure if he wanted to say it. Did he _really _want his ex-girlfriend to know that he liked someone else? And another guy, at that? Well, if she hadn't figured it out already, then he might as well tell her.

"There's this guy I like…" Axel started to say.

"A guy?" Larxene raised her eyebrows. "Since when are you gay?"

"Since this year." Axel said.

"Is this why you broke up with me?" Larxene demanded.

"No, it was because it wasn't working out." Axel said. "And if you remember right, it was a mutual break up."

"So do I know him?" Larxene brushed a strand of hair from her eyes.

"Yeah, he's in the marching band." Axel nodded.

"So what's holding you back?" Larxene wanted to know, looking Axel in the eye. "You didn't seem to hesitate asking me out."

"That took a lot of nerve, actually." Axel smiled a bit. "But this is different."

"How?" Larxene wondered.

"I'm not sure what he'll say." Axel said. "I know he likes guys, but I'm not sure he'll like me back."

"Well, you have to take a chance, Axel." Larxene told him. "He could like you, too."

"I wouldn't count on that." Axel gave a shaky laugh.

"And why not?" Larxene questioned.

"Because…we don't get along." Axel said, trying not to let Larxene find out that he was talking about Roxas.

"And you still like him?" Larxene raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, he's…I don't think there's a single right word to describe him." Axel said, feeling the beginning of a smile on his lips. "It seems that every word I pick is inadequate."

"Does he know you like him?" Larxene wondered.

"No one does." Axel shook his head. "They all think I'm straight."

"I still think you should tell him, Axel." Larxene told him. "Going out with him could give you a chance to have a normal relationship."

"My relationship with you was normal." Axel pointed out.

"Well, sort of." Larxene said. "But our break-up changed you a lot more than you think."

"Oh yeah?" Axel was sceptical.

"You seemed withdrawn." Larxene explained. "You told everyone that you were fighting with Reno, but I knew what it was."

"You changed too, you know." Axel told her.

"No, I didn't." Larxene protested.

"Yes, you did." Axel said. "You tried to be normal, but I could tell that you were upset about the whole thing."

"That's because I wanted to get back with you." Larxene admitted.

Axel did a double take. "Seriously?"

"I loved being with you." Larxene nodded. "It was amazing hanging out with you with no one knowing."

"But we obviously weren't meant for each other." Axel told her.

"And that's what I hated about breaking up with you." Larxene said and Axel could see the regret in her eyes. "I wanted to see if I had been the one to screw things up."

"Well, it was more of a constant disagreement with things." Axel hesitated before saying, "And I think I should probably say that I wanted to get back with you, too."

"Really?" Larxene looked surprised. "Why?"

"Pretty much for the same reasons. Except I knew that I had been the one to ruin our relationship." Axel said.

"It was both of us, Axel." Larxene told him. "I think our relationship was doomed from the start."

"Yeah, probably." Axel said with a little smile. "But I _would_ like it if we actually got along."

"I think we're getting along right now." Larxene said.

"I mean having civil conversations with each other." Axel told her.

"Yeah, it seems we're doing that right now." Larxene said.

"But can we keep it up?" Axel wondered.

"Well, I guess we can always try." Larxene said.

"I can live with that." Axel nodded.

Larxene checked her phone for the time and said, "Crap! I told Xion that I'd help her with her Chem homework."

"Go ahead." Axel said. "Chem was a nightmare."

"Okay." Larxene stood to leave before turning to Axel and saying, "Axel?"

"Yeah?" Axel asked.

"Make sure you tell him, okay?" Larxene told him.

Axel was silent for a few seconds before saying, "Yeah…"

**Things are getting interesting, huh? And I know I'm using a lot of music from FF XII, but that's all that's on my mp3 right now. Things are going to get really good really soon. reviews equal love!**

**next chapter: the fighting is effecting more than just Axel and Roxas...**


	8. The Song Remains The Same

**Disclaimer: I now own everything in this series. I found the copyright paper and they are mine.**

**That's a load of BS, huh?**

**Hey yo! It's Xero! This was fun to write, but hard at the same time. I don't know how to play the guitar myself, so I can only imagine how hard it is to play it. Anyway, on with the deadly tale!**

The second rehearsal that afternoon passed without any unusual occurrences. Unless one counted Yazoo trying to play the music for the oboes, which sounded strange when played on his French horn. It turned out that Paine and Xigbar decided to play a trick on Yazoo and switch his sheet music with Marluxia's. The pink-haired teen wasn't pleased in the least.

The next morning was dull as well. Yuffie had somehow managed to fall asleep in the middle of _Black Water_ and had accidentally knocked the wind chimes into the bass drum, which in turn crashed into the cymbals. Cid was rather confused to hear all the commotion from the percussion platform, but everything made sense when he learned that Yuffie was behind the mayhem.

What was strange to nearly everyone was the fact that Larxene and Axel seemed to be getting along, something that had never happened before. It was a nice change, however. Aeris and Selphie figured that it was only a matter of time before the redhead started to get along with Roxas, but Cloud and Vincent knew that that was a long shot.

On the sixth day, Roxas awoke to an empty cabin, which didn't surprise him in the least. Cloud and Zack usually played basketball in the mornings with Lexaeus and Wakka, Demyx spent the mornings with Zexion and Vincent could usually be found playing BS with Tidus and Leon. Roxas didn't know where Axel was and he wouldn't have cared one way or the other. He figured he was with Kadaj, since the two hung out a lot, but the redhead could also be spending his time with Reno.

Rolling out of bed, Roxas dressed slowly and turned on his laptop so he could work on his video. He was making an amv with _Hellsing_ to _Bye Bye Beautiful_ from Nightwish and he really wanted to get it finished. Roxas had borrowed all of the OVAs from Tidus, but getting the music had been the hard part.

Roxas had never heard the song until he'd watched some video on YouTube. When he heard it, he had envisioned several scenes involving Alucard shooting various ghouls and Seras Victoria shooting the Harkonen. But Roxas didn't have _Dark Passion Play_, the album that the song was on, so he went to Riku, who was an avid Nightwish listener.

Riku did have the album, but he wasn't going to let it go easily. The silver-haired teen was well known for keeping his CDs in pristine condition, so much so that Sora considered it shameful. The last time Riku lent a CD out to anyone was when he let Xion borrow his copy of _American Idiot_ and he didn't stop hounding her until he got it back. Realizing that this was probably going to happen, Roxas came to the conclusion that he'd simply have to burn the CD at Riku's house. Riku couldn't complain. The CD wasn't actually leaving his house, after all.

So after convincing Riku that his CD wasn't going to be in danger, Roxas burned a copy of _Dark Passion Play_ and discovered that he loved the rest of the CD as much as he did _Bye Bye Beautiful._ After finishing his current project, the blonde was planning on making an amv with _FullMetal Alchemist_ to _Whoever Brings The Night_.

Roxas was editing a clip of Integra when Cloud stomped into the room, carrying Vincent's trumpet case behind him.

"What's going on, Cloud?" Roxas didn't look up from his laptop.

"I don't know why Vincent can't bring his own trumpet back here." Cloud threw the instrument on Vincent's bed.

"Where is he?" Roxas frowned, lying down on his stomach.

"Who knows?!" Cloud was obviously in a bad mood. "He's probably doing homework. That's all he ever seems to do."

"He's taking three AP classes this year." Roxas told the other blonde. "Of course he's going to have a lot of homework."

"There _is_ such a thing as a break, though." Cloud said before leaving in a flurry of anger.

Rolling his eyes, Roxas resumed the editing process. He wanted a fancy software to make amvs with, but since his laptop didn't have any, he was stuck with using the regular moviemaker. The annoying thing was that the clips kept skipping, which was irritating when he was timing things.

Frustrated with the whole thing, Roxas saved his work and closed the screen, returning him to his desktop, where an elfin girl stood in a mystical forest, her hands reaching towards something that rested outside the picture. Upon realizing that it was almost eleven-thirty, Roxas decided that now would be a good time to get some lunch, since the afternoon rehearsal would take a while.

He had just walked into the Mess Hall when someone tackled him so hard that Roxas was crushed against the wall. Looking down, Roxas realized that his assailant was Hayner, who was grinning at the blonde.

"Do you have a death wish, Hayner?" Roxas scowled.

"Nope." Hayner grinned.

"So what do you want, anyway?" Roxas asked as he stood up. "I'm assuming there's a reason why you tackled me."

"I was bored." Hayner shrugged.

"Why am I not surprised…" Roxas shook his head slowly. "When do you guys practice?"

"At three." Hayner said, following the blonde to the line.

"Is Cid with you guys again?" Roxas asked, dropping a slice of pepperoni pizza on his plate.

"No, Sephiroth's going solo." Hayner replied.

"I can't see how you guys put up with Sephiroth." Roxas mused as he found an empty table.

"We can't see how you guys put up with Cid." Hayner said, sitting down next to his former boyfriend.

"At least Cid's more amusing than Sephiroth." Roxas bit into his pizza. "Sephiroth seems so cold all the time."

"Yeah, he is." Hayner said.

"Hayner, Sephiroth changed the rehearsal time." Naminè said as she approached the two teens.

"Seriously?" Hayner groaned. "When does it start?"

"Like, right now." Naminè said.

"Crap!" Hayner said. "I gotta go, Roxas."

"Yeah, see ya." Roxas smiled, watching Hayner dash out of the Mess Hall after Naminè.

* * *

Axel soon found himself standing on the percussion platform, waiting for Cid to announce what song they were playing next. It really was annoying having the play the guitar and drums in different songs. And he never knew which song they would be playing until almost the last minute.

"Axel!"

Yuffie smashed the cymbals behind him, sending Axel reeling and undoubtedly causing ringing in his ears.

"What gives, Yuffie?!" Axel demanded.

"We're doing _Thirteenth Struggle_." Yuffie, walking back to the drums.

"Seriously?" Axel smiled.

"That's what she just said, asshole." Roxas was still angry with the redhead.

"No kidding?" Axel glared at the blonde as he made his way to the xylophone.

The song started off with Cloud's cymbal crash, which Axel quickly followed with some rhythms from the xylophone. Roxas then came in on the keyboard, which sounded like an organ for that particular part of the song. The brass then came in, with Xigbar marching in a very peculiar fashion, before Axel started the xylophone notes again. This repeated several times until the trumpets and Yazoo were alone with Cloud on the bass drum.

Roxas played the main melody of the song, making sure to be especially loud since Pence and Wakka were making a lot of noise on the field. Yuna and the rest of the flutes took over the melody, Vincent and Xigbar still holding up the bass. Demyx's sitar and Kadaj's alto sax joined in with the flutes, which sounded very strange indeed. Roxas regained the melody once again at the same time when Axel started the xylophone rhythm, before playing what appeared to be a series of scales and allowing Vexen's baritone sax to carry out the bass. Cloud and Yuffie started the drums again before Roxas played the melody one last time and the song was finished.

"Wakka, I hope you know that you almost hit Rikku on the head with your flag in the middle." Cid said.

"That's because I couldn't get past Loz and that tuba of his." Wakka leaned against his flag.

"It's a baritone, for Shiva's sake!" Loz yelled. He was particularly touchy when his instrument was given the wrong name.

"So how'd we do?" Xion asked.

"The colour guard did great." Cid said.

"We didn't, yo." Reno said, drumming his fingers on his clarinet.

"Demyx, you _always_ come in too early in measure forty-seven." Cid faced the faux-hawked sitarist. "Wait until you hear Yuna, _then_ come in."

"I'm trying to." Demyx grimaced.

"Yuffie, you're too loud throughout the whole thing." Cid looked up at the energetic drummer. "I can hardly hear Riku and Marluxia."

"You're really surprised, Cid?" Zack raised an eyebrow.

"No, but I've told her about it before." Cid said. "And Sora?"

"Yeah?" Sora asked.

"You're overpowering the flutes." Cid said. "Everyone is too loud in this song."

"But loud is a good thing, Cid." Axel said, twirling his drumstick between his fingers.

"Save the loudness for _Killer Likes Candy_." Cid said.

"So we're definitely doing that?" Riku asked.

"That was decided yesterday." Cid said.

"Sweet!" Axel grinned, knowing that he'd get to play the guitar on a song he actually liked.

"Is that it for today?" Larxene asked, clearly wanting to get off the practice field.

"For right now." Cid said. "I want everyone back here by six fifteen."

And with that, the formations broke, allowing the teens to put away instruments and wrap the flags.

* * *

Roxas felt the difference in textures as he walked from the grass to the gravel. He'd been playing Battleships with Hayner, something they used to do all the time, before Lexaeus came into the cabin. Knowing that Lexaeus would hate having Roxas over, the blonde decided that it was time for him to leave. Though he didn't want to return to his cabin so soon, there wasn't really anywhere else he could go.

When he entered the cabin, he found Axel playing his guitar again. The crimson iPod was on the floor and the headphones were in his ears. He was singing again, obviously not noticing the blonde since the peridot eyes were closed in concentration.

_Do you know I could never leave you? And I know I could never beat you. And if I, I can never find you. Never mind. I will not forget you. Can I stay alive forever?_

Axel's eyes opened and he stopped singing, now knowing that Roxas was in the cabin.

"Why do you always stop whenever I come in?" Roxas questioned.

"Because I don't want people to hear my voice." Axel said.

"What were you playing?" Roxas asked, sitting down on his bed.

"_Forever_ by Breaking Benjamin." Axel replied, taking the headphones out of his ears.

"Which album is it from?" Roxas frowned.

"It's at the end of _Shallow Bay_ on _Saturate_." Axel said.

"So _that's_ what takes up the extra time!" Roxas exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" Axel narrowed his eyebrows.

"I always went to the next song when _Shallow Bay_ ended because I figured that the rest of the song was just silence." Roxas explained.

"Well, the best songs are always hidden." Axel smiled, causing the butterflies to emerge in Roxas' stomach.

"It sounds like it would be hard to play." Roxas said, leaning back against the headboard.

"It's not really." Axel shrugged. "Not if you already know how to play the guitar."

"Which I don't." Roxas said.

"Seriously?" Axel looked surprised. "I thought Reno said that you played some song from AC/DC?"

"He got me confused with Sora, remember?" Roxas said. "Sora can play, but I can't."

"He won't teach you?" Axel questioned.

"Nope." Roxas shook his head.

"Okay, get over here." Axel said.

"Why?" Roxas frowned.

"You're learning how to play the guitar whether you like it or not." Axel said, moving up to his bed.

"But I'm so used to the keyboard that I'll mess up." Roxas protested.

"Roxas, I'm a drummer. If I can learn the guitar, anyone could." Axel said. "And it's not like I'm asking you to play _Lover's Requiem_."

"Thank God for that." Roxas muttered under his breath as he joined Axel. "Just make sure I won't break it."

"Sadie's a good guitar to learn on." Axel smiled. "You know how to hold one, don't you?"

"Of course I do." Roxas said, taking the guitar by the neck and holding it. "Like this."

"Your hand is a little too low." Axel said as he took Roxas' left hand and moved it up.

"Your nails are black." Roxas noticed the strange colour.

"Yeah." Axel clearly wasn't happy about it.

"Who did it?" Roxas could tell that it was a prank.

"I fell asleep in the Mess Hall and Kadaj thought it would be funny to paint my nails. And Larxene got mad at _me_ for using her nail polish." Axel rolled his eyes. "I think Kadaj just wanted payback for when I tied his feet together in his sleep."

"I bet that didn't go well." Roxas smiled.

"Not in the least." Axel shook his head. "But I hate looking so girly."

"There are some pretty hot guys who wear nail polish, you know." Roxas said.

"Yeah, you'd know." Axel smirked.

"Are you going to teach me or what?" Roxas smiled.

"Okay, so you take your left hand and press these strings here…" Axel took Roxas' fingers and pressed them into the strings. "You have to hold them pretty hard or it won't sound right."

"Why not?" Roxas questioned.

"I dunno." Axel shrugged. "All I know is it sounds bad."

"So then what?" Roxas asked.

"You take the pic and strum it." Axel took Roxas' other hand and forced his thumb to strum the strings.

"Like this?" Roxas tried it on his own.

"Just like that." Axel smiled. "So ready for the next chord?"

"I guess so." Roxas shrugged.

So they sat there for well over an hour, Axel doing the teaching, Roxas doing the playing. Night had fallen and set in when Roxas was ready to learn the last part of the song, or as Axel called it, the conclusion.

"You go up seven chords, then go back and forth between the seventh and the sixth." Axel explained.

"What?" Roxas was clearly confused.

"Do you want me to show you?" Axel offered.

"Yeah…" Roxas handed the guitar over to the redhead.

"You just do it like this." Axel said before playing the required chords and handing the guitar back to Roxas.

"It looks kind of hard." Roxas said, placing his left hand on the neck.

"Not really." Axel shook his head. "Not once you get used to it."

"So like this?" Roxas tried the sequence.

"Almost." Axel said.

"What'd I miss?" Roxas asked.

"You repeated the fourth chord instead of going to the fifth." Axel said.

"Oh." Roxas said.

"What's going on here?" Cloud asked as he entered with Demyx not far behind him.

"I'm teaching Roxas the guitar." Axel said.

"Write this down, Demyx!" Cloud looked absolutely flabbergasted.

"What's the big deal?" Roxas and Axel asked together.

"Do either of you know how rare it is to have you two get along?" Cloud asked.

"It's very rare." Demyx answered.

"Whatever you say." Roxas said, handing the guitar back to Axel and retreating to his bed.

"You never finished, Roxas." Axel pointed out.

"I've had about enough for one night." Roxas said. "I feel like playing _Phantom Hourglass_."

"Again?" Demyx raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, I like it." Roxas shrugged, crawling under the covers.

"You sure are odd, you know." Axel said with a smile.

"I'm not the only odd one, Axel." Roxas said.

"Are you implying something, Roxas?" Axel's voice was full of suspicion.

"I'm not implying anything." Roxas said. "All I'm saying is that some people are weirder than others."

"But you made it seem like I'm one of those people." Axel put his guitar back in its case.

"I never said that." Roxas said.

"But you implied it." Axel retorted.

"Oh no…" Cloud groaned.

"I said I didn't imply anything." Roxas said.

"Well, you must've because that's what it sounded like." Axel said.

"Are you being more paranoid than usual?" Roxas questioned.

"You're the one being paranoid, Roxas." Axel's eyes were slits.

"I'm not paranoid, Axel." Roxas snapped.

The argument continued, each teen seeming to forget the fact that Demyx and Cloud were even in the room. How was it possible? They had been getting along just fine one minute and the next minute they were fighting again. Cloud had to find a way to break the never-ending cycle or there would be dire consequences.

**No!!! They were so close! Anyway, I hope I'm not dragging this out or anything. and I really hope it's not getting boring. Reviews equal love!**

**next chapter: song lists...**


	9. Counterblow

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Hallo! It's Xero! I hope I'm not boring anyone with this...I know I'm going really fast. But no one should be complaining about that, though, right? Anyway, on with the deadly tale!**

Axel knew that the next morning came far too quickly when he heard his alarm go off. It was rather hard to sleep through a loud rendition of _The Beautiful People. _He'd made a smart decision when he decided to have a song by Marilyn Manson as his alarm.

Rolling over, Axel saw that two teens were sitting on the steps outside the cabin door. Upon closer inspection, Axel learned that the teens were Cloud and Zack. He wasn't surprised that Cloud had brought his boyfriend over, but the topic of their conversation was certainly startling to the redhead.

"They went at it again last night?" Zack asked.

"Uh-huh. It got pretty bad, too." Cloud said.

"Define bad." Zack said.

"If Demyx and I hadn't stopped him, I know for a fact that Roxas would have beaten Axel senseless." Cloud said in tones of hardly-used seriousness.

"This has gotten out of hand." Zack stated the obvious.

"No kidding?" Axel could hear the sarcasm in Cloud's voice.

"And you don't know what's causing it?" Zack asked.

"That's just it! I have no idea why they hate each other so much!" Cloud exclaimed.

That wasn't exactly right. Axel didn't hate Roxas, not by any means. It was quite the opposite, actually. The only problem was that Axel was almost positive that Roxas hated him to the point of no return.

"Did you try watching them to see what happened before they started arguing?" Zack wondered.

"Uh-huh. But the thing is that they're acting really great before they start fighting." Cloud said. "Just when I think that there's hope for them, they try to kill each other!"

"I don't know what to tell you, Cloud." Axel could see Zack move closer to his boyfriend.

"I'm starting to get worried now." Cloud said, the anxiety obvious in his voice. "What if they really do try to kill each other?"

"They won't. Axel knows when to stop." Zack said. "And Roxas isn't like that."

"You wouldn't say that if you saw them fighting." Cloud said.

"If they keep acting up, just let me know." Zack told him. "We'll go to Cid if we need to."

"Cid already knows about it." Cloud said.

"Should we try to keep them apart?" Zack suggested.

"I think it's better if they learn to get along, but that's obviously not working so well." Cloud said.

"You'll think of something, Cloud." Zack said. "You're always good at figuring these things out."

"If you say so." Cloud said.

"Come on. Let's get some breakfast before all the good food's gone." Zack said.

And with that, Zack stood up and led Cloud away from the cabin, leaving Axel alone.

Axel had never thought that his frequent arguments with Roxas was affecting anyone else this drastically. But it was obvious that they were. Cloud seemed really worried about the whole thing, since it didn't take much to get Roxas and Axel fighting.

He knew that he had to start getting along with him sometime soon, but Roxas was always the question. What would Roxas do if Axel didn't argue with him anymore? He'd grow suspicious, no doubt. It would be very unusual for the guy you argue with to suddenly get along with you.

Then there was always the question of what Axel would say if Roxas questioned him about this. What _would_ Axel say if he was interrogated by the blonde? There wasn't really a right way to answer, after all. Well, not a way that wouldn't seem suspicious that would exclude Axel confessing his feelings. That would just be awkward.

Rolling over, Axel saw that Roxas was still asleep, his usually azure eyes closed. Axel wondered what the blonde was dreaming, if anything at all. Axel didn't dream very much and when he did, it was usually restricted to black and white with very few colours when they did show up, which was extremely rare. Roxas probably dreamt in colour, with so many colours that there was no possible way to name them all.

Axel eventually got out of bed and made his over to Reno's cabin, where he found his twin playing poker with Kadaj and Vexen. The ante in the middle of the floor was small, so Axel had to conclude that the hand had just started.

"It's about time, Axel." Reno said. "We were wondering if you were going to show up, yo."

"Cloud and Zack were talking outside the cabin." Axel said, sitting next to Kadaj.

"That's never stopped you before." Kadaj smiled, brushing his silver hair from his mysterious eyes.

"What were they talking about?" Vexen inquired.

"Me arguing with Roxas." Axel said, picking up the cards that Kadaj dealt to him.

"You're _still_ arguing with him, yo?" Reno looked shocked.

"Why wouldn't I?" Axel shrugged.

"Marluxia and I have a theory on this." Vexen said, putting a Sharpie in the pile in the centre of the floor.

"And this theory is?" Kadaj wondered.

"We think that Roxas is secretly in love with Axel." Vexen said with complete nonchalance.

"Like _that's_ ever going to happen." Axel laughed.

"It could happen, yo." Reno pointed out. "We all know Roxas is into guys."

"But Axel's totally straight." Kadaj pointed out, to which Axel said nothing.

"Note that he isn't saying anything about _that_." Vexen offered a rare smile.

"Axel?" Reno glanced at his twin.

"I'm completely and totally straight." Axel assured him, though he knew this was a lie. He'd never thought much of women since he broke up with Larxene and fell for Roxas.

"Sure…" Kadaj smiled, putting a gel pen in the pile.

"Think what you want, but I'm straight." Axel smiled.

"That's what they all say, yo." Reno laughed.

"So…any interesting news so far?" Vexen asked.

"I'm thinking of asking Hayner out." Kadaj shrugged.

"You can't tell he's lusting for Roxas?" Axel raised an eyebrow.

"Seriously?" Kadaj looked shocked.

"Um, it's obvious, Kadaj." Vexen said.

"Dammit…" Kadaj scowled, obviously disappointed.

"Wait, does Roxas know yet?" Reno asked the other redhead.

"I told him, but he doesn't believe me." Axel said. "He doesn't believe anything that I say."

"I keep telling you that he likes you, Axel." Vexen said.

"There's no way that Roxas would like me." Axel said. "And even if he did, there's no way I'd like him back."

"You should see things from our perspective, yo." Reno said.

"It looks pretty obvious the way we see it." Kadaj said.

"Oh yeah?" Axel was sceptical. "And how does it look obvious?"

"You should see the way you act around him, Axel." Kadaj said. "It's…really weird."

"Define weird." Axel demanded.

"It's really hard to explain. You're sort of protective, but distant at the same time." Vexen said.

"You can't be protective and distant at the same time, Vexen." Axel stated, wondering if they were still playing poker anymore.

"Distant isn't the right word, yo." Reno said.

"Then what is?" Vexen snapped.

"More like…hesitant." Reno said.

"About what?" Kadaj frowned.

"I dunno." Reno shrugged. "I guess only Axel's consciousness knows, yo."

"That's absolutely ridiculous." Axel rolled his eyes at the ludicrous thought.

"Maybe, maybe not." Kadaj said. "We're just telling you how it looks from our point of view."

"Whatever you say." Axel said, hoping that he wasn't being too obvious.

* * *

The last notes of _Excalibur_ remained in the night air, fading away gradually. The entire marching band and colour guard was silent as they waited for Cid's usual comments about the song.

"I'm not sure that one's ready." Cid said, appearing from behind the colour guard.

"You said it was a month ago!" Sora exclaimed.

"That was a month ago, Sora." Cid said. "I think it's gotten worse."

"How could it have gotten worse?" Wakka wanted to know.

"Is the colour guard or the band getting worse?" Vincent questioned.

"Both, actually." Cid said. "Though the band is getting worse faster."

"I don't see how that's possible." Axel said, leaning against a timpani.

"That's because you're on the drums for this, Axel." Roxas said, glaring at the redhead from his keyboard.

"What does _that_ mean, Roxas?" Axel demanded, his peridot eyes slits.

"That's enough up there!" Cid shouted, causing Roxas and Axel to fall silent.

"Is it so bad that we can't improve before the competition?" Zack asked from the field.

"Looks like it." Cid nodded.

"But we spent _weeks_ learning those routines!" Larxene protested. "And the marches that went with them!"

"And that oboe part was as hard as hell!" Marluxia exclaimed.

"If we play this for the competition, then we'll loose for sure." Cid said. "_Killer Likes Candy_ is definite, since that's easily our best one, and we're probably going to do _One Winged Angel_, too."

"Is that the one that you wrote with Sephiroth?" Leon leaned against his flag.

"That's the one." Cid nodded.

"No wonder why it sounds weird." Yuna and Rikku said together.

"I like it!" Demyx said, gently holding his beloved sitar.

"You're insane, Demyx." Yuffie said.

"Is that all, Cid?" Reno wanted to know.

"I have one last announcement, actually." Cid said.

"And it is?" Vexen raised an eyebrow.

"Due to conditions on the competition field, the camp has been extended a week." Cid announced.

"You have to be _kidding_ me!" Axel protested, his eyes furious.

"Apparently some deer got in the field and ruined the turf a few days ago." Cid explained. "It'll take a few days to repair it."

"And why can't they just do it while we're practicing?" Xion wondered.

"The earliest the company could get it done was on the day of the original competition." Cid said.

"But we told our parents that we were going to be gone for two weeks." Zexion said.

"I called everyone's parents and explained the whole situation." Cid said.

"This is just great…" Axel muttered under his breath.

"Do you always talk to yourself, Axel?" Roxas questioned, the anger obvious in his voice.

"Shut the hell up, Roxas." Axel threw his drumstick at the blonde, but Roxas dodged it.

"What did I just tell you two?" Cid yelled at the other two. "Knock it off!"

"So is that it?" Yazoo wondered.

"That's it." Cid said.

"Thank God for that." Yuffie breathed a sigh of relief.

"I swear, I _hate_ this stupid thing." Axel started moving the timpanis to the edge of the platform.

"Then why did you sign up?" Cloud questioned.

"I didn't think Roxas would be here." Axel shot a death-glare at the blonde.

"I heard that, asshole." Roxas was putting away his keyboard.

"Good to know." Axel said.

"This is _still_ going on?" Zack asked as he jumped on the platform to move his amp.

"When is it not?" Axel demanded as Cloud looked worriedly at his boyfriend.

"Need any help up there?" Sora asked from the bottom of the platform.

"Yeah, can you move the wind-chimes and the gong?" Cloud asked.

"No problem!" Sora leapt onto the platform and started to cart off the gong.

"A whole other week of this hell." Axel groaned as he pushed the bass drum to the end of the platform.

"Band camp is supposed to be fun, Axel." Yuffie said, grabbing the xylophone.

"Whoever said that was out of his fucking mind." Axel scowled.

"Oh, lighten up, will you?" Roxas rolled his eyes. "You're not the only one who hates it here."

"Apparently I am, since no one else seems to be complaining about it." Axel retorted.

"Roxas, why is Hayner over by the gates?" Zack was looking off into the distance.

When Roxas looked towards the entrance, he saw that Hayner was indeed standing by the gates, looking anxious about something.

"I have no idea." Roxas shrugged. "And why do you ask me of all people?"

"Because he's your ex-boyfriend." Cloud and Axel said together.

"Well, who knows what he wants?" Roxas started to walk down the ramp. "He's so unpredictable."

Hayner met Roxas halfway across the practice field, looking excited and nervous at the same time. It was a very strange combination to see on the other blonde, which made Roxas hesitant about what Hayner wanted.

"What's up, Hayner?" Roxas frowned.

"I want to talk to you." Hayner said, the anxiety obvious in his voice.

"About what?" Roxas wondered.

"Just promise you won't be mad at me." Hayner said quickly, catching Roxas by surprise.

"Why would I be mad at you?" Roxas was really confused now. "You haven't done anything yet."

"It's about what I'm going to say." Hayner said.

"So what is it?" Roxas asked.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Hayner sighed and said, "I'm still in love with you, Roxas. I want to go back out with you."

***gasp* I know, right?! What an ending! And a cliffie, at that! I have to have at least one cliffie per story, so this is one of many. Things are getting interesting, ne? anyway, reviews equal love!**

**next chapter: explaining**


	10. I Don't Love You

**Disclaimer: Must I say it?**

**Hey yo! It's Xero! What a last chapter, huh? I hope this isn't too boring...I'll be graduating this friday and I'm leaving on saturday for a week at the beach with my cousin, so I may not get to update for a while. Just letting everyone know. ^_^ on with the deadly tale!**

Roxas stood in silence after Hayner's confession, staring at his ex-boyfriend in confusion. What was he talking about? Was Hayner really serious? Or was this another one of his infamous pranks?

"Are you serious, Hayner?" Roxas questioned, his cerulean eyes narrowed in bewilderment.

"I'm afraid so." Hayner nodded. "And I know that we broke up and that you don't want to go out with me anymore…"

"Then why are you telling me?" Roxas wondered.

"I really don't know." Hayner shrugged, his hands in his pockets. "I guess I was hoping that you would say yes, but I know that's not going to happen."

"Hayner, I love you, but as a friend." Roxas said, brushing his hair from his eyes. "You know I used to love you more than that, but I just don't feel that anymore."

"And I'm okay with that." Hayner said, his chocolate eyes serious. "I guess it's just harder for me to move on and forget about our relationship."

"It's hard for anyone." Roxas said as they started to walk away from the field.

"There's something you're not telling me, isn't there?" Hayner asked, looking Roxas in the eye.

"Why do you think that?" Roxas knew what Hayner was talking about, but Hayner couldn't know that.

"There's something else." Hayner said. "I know there is."

"You're not going to drop it until I tell you, are you?" Roxas asked, a small smile forming on his lips.

"Nope." Hayner shook his head.

Roxas hesitated before saying, "There's someone else."

"What are you talking about?" Hayner frowned.

"I've found another guy I want to be with." Roxas said.

"That's good, though." Hayner said.

"But I know it won't work." Roxas shook his head.

"Why not?" Hayner queried.

"He's straight." Roxas didn't feel like explaining completely, though he was sort of telling Hayner the truth.

"All the hot guys are straight, aren't they?" Hayner laughed. "So, do I get to know the guy my ex is smitten with?"

"Not yet." Roxas shook his head again.

"I figured not." Hayner looked disappointed. "Will I ever know who he is?"

"If he miraculously becomes gay, you will." Roxas nodded.

"And I'm assuming the chances of that happening are pretty low, huh?" Hayner said.

"It's about as likely as Cid dating Sephiroth." Roxas smiled.

"I would love to see _that_." Hayner grinned.

"But I'm sorry that I don't feel the same way about you, Hayner." Roxas said, his tone apologetic.

"It's okay. I had an amazing time going out with you." Hayner replied. "I'm just glad I got to spend that time with you."

"Hey, you could find someone better than me." Roxas said.

"Maybe." Hayner said, but he didn't sound very convinced.

"Well, I'd better get going." Roxas said. "I'll see you, Hayner."

"Later, Roxas." Hayner said as the two went their separate ways.

When Roxas entered the cabin, he found Vincent sprawled out on his bed reading a book. Roxas found it unusual that the crimson-eyed teen was in the cabin, since he usually didn't spend very much time in it.

"I haven't seen you in a while, Vincent." Roxas said, lying down on his bed.

"I thought I would spend some time here." Vincent said, turning a page of his book. "Is that unusual?"

"Well, yeah, since you're hardly ever here." Roxas replied.

"Cloud told me that things are getting worse over here." Vincent said, still not meeting Roxas' eyes.

"What do you mean?" Roxas frowned.

"Between you and Axel." Vincent said.

"Oh." Roxas said simply.

"Cloud and Demyx are starting to get worried." Vincent said. "Especially Cloud."

"I'm trying to get along with him." Roxas told Vincent.

"No, you're not." Vincent said. "I've observed you at rehearsal. Neither of you even attempt to hide your hatred for each other."

"I'm just so sick of dealing with him." Roxas still found Vincent's formal speech strange.

"But that's not all, is there?" Vincent's vermilion eyes found Roxas.

"What are you talking about?" Roxas frowned.

"I've watched you when you're around him." Vincent said. "You become a new person. It's very strange."

"I feel like I'm the same." Roxas said, eyes on the ceiling.

"I am simply telling you what I am observing." Vincent returned to his book. "Interpret it however you wish."

"If you say so." Roxas said.

"Will Cloud and the others be returning soon?" Vincent implored.

"I honestly have no idea, Vincent." Roxas said. "Why?"

"I wanted to play chess with Demyx." Vincent replied.

"Demyx plays chess?" _That_ was news to Roxas.

"I'm forcing him to learn." Vincent grinned deviously.

"I bet he doesn't like that." Roxas smiled as well.

"Not in the slightest." Vincent shook his head.

The cabin door opened and Axel sauntered inside, carrying what appeared to be Reno's hoodie. His peridot eyes locked on Roxas before quickly looking away, as if Axel was afraid to look at the blonde.

"Where were you?" Vincent looked up at the redhead.

"With Kadaj setting a trap in Yuna and Rikku's cabin." Axel grinned.

"What did you do this time, Axel?" Roxas sighed, figuring the redhead had done something dangerous.

"We stole Rikku's _Camp Rock_ shirt and put it on Lexaeus' bed." Axel replied. "And swiped Yuna's black nail polish."

"Now why would you do that?" Vincent wondered.

"Because my nail polish is chipping." Axel said. "And I want to paint Roxas'."

"Have you finally lost your mind, Axel?" Roxas demanded.

"Evidently so." Vincent mused. "And why did you paint your nails in the first place?"

"Oh, I didn't." Axel said, sitting down on Roxas' bed. "That was all Kadaj."

"He seems like such a good friend." Vincent returned to his book.

"Oh, he is." Axel turned to the blonde and said, "Let me see the hands, Roxie."

"I hate it when people call me that, you know." Roxas scowled.

"Then deal with it, okay?" Axel grabbed Roxas' left hand and twisted the top off of the jar of nail polish.

"Why has painting my nails become your life's greatest mission?" Roxas wanted to know.

"Because you'd look cute with black nails, Roxas." Axel said unblushingly, though Roxas flushed bright magenta. Axel ignored this and turned to Vincent. "Where have you been, anyway?"

"I've been with Lucrecia lately." Vincent replied.

"Oh, that explains a lot." Roxas smiled.

"What does?" Vincent frowned.

"That you're with Lucrecia a lot." Axel said, finishing the nails on Roxas' left hand and moving on to the next hand.

"I am friends with Lucrecia." Vincent said simply.

"So that's what they're calling it these days?" Axel was smiling now.

"Is it wrong for me to be friends with someone in the colour guard?" Vincent knew that Lucrecia was one of the quieter members of the colour guard. So quiet, in fact, that she didn't really speak to anyone except for Vincent.

"There's nothing wrong with that." Axel said. "I'm friends with Larxene, after all."

"You were more than that, apparently." Vincent mused.

"How'd you find out about that?" Axel furrowed his eyebrows.

"Axel, I think everyone knows." Roxas carefully brushed a strand of his hair from his eyes.

"I should've figured that by now." Axel said, twisting the top on the jar of nail polish. "You're all done, my Roxie."

"Since when am I yours?" Roxas frowned.

"You're the only one I argue with on a regular basis." Axel grinned, wrapping his arm around Roxas' shoulder.

"I'm honoured." Roxas feigned the act of being humble.

"That doesn't look strange at all…" Vincent was doing a poor job of being sarcastic.

"You need to learn sarcasm, Vincent." Axel said, resting his head on Roxas' shoulder.

"I'm surviving very well without it, thank you." Vincent shook his head.

"If you say so." Roxas smiled.

"Hey, isn't it almost time for dinner?" Axel looked at Roxas.

"What brought that on?" Vincent wondered.

"I'm hungry." Axel grinned.

"Aren't you always?" Roxas laughed. "But yeah, I guess it is."

"Then let's go eat something." Axel jumped off the bed and pulled Roxas out the door.

"I still don't see why we're eating so late today." Roxas frowned.

"The band from Traverse Town had to rehearse later than usual today, so the rest of us have to suffer." Axel released Roxas' hand as they made their way to the Mess Hall.

"How nice of them." Roxas rolled his eyes.

"The world isn't all sugar and spice and everything nice, Roxas." Axel told the blonde.

"No kidding?" Roxas laughed, opening the door to the Mess Hall.

When they entered, Roxas and Axel saw mainly students from Twilight High with students from Destiny Islands and Olympus Coliseum who were keeping to themselves. Kairi and Tifa were eating dinner with Aeris and Paine whilst Rikku, Tidus, Yuna, Leon and Xion ate in another corner of the Mess Hall.

"Think there are enough people here?" Roxas asked.

"No, not really." Roxas could hear the sarcasm in Axel's voice.

"I'm going to eat with Riku and Sora." Roxas said. "I guess you probably eat with Kadaj and Reno…"

"They won't miss me for one day." Axel said, following Roxas in line.

"What, you're going to be with me?" Roxas frowned, looking at the redhead in confusion.

"My brother made me realize that it's high time that we get along." Axel said.

"Okay…" Roxas was clearly suspicious about Axel's ulterior motives, but he decided to forget about them for the moment.

The dinner for that night happened to be baked ziti and bacon alfredo, Roxas' favourite food. Axel made sure that he got as much meat as he could in his taco before following Roxas over to Riku and Sora's table.

"Well, this is a surprise." Riku was certainly shocked to see the redhead with Roxas.

"What's going on, Axel?" Sora looked suspiciously at the drummer/guitarist.

"Reno thought that it was a good idea that I should get along with Roxas." Axel poured hot sauce on his taco.

"I should say so." Sora nodded. "From what Cloud and Demyx tell me, your cabin can be mistaken for a war zone."

"I don't think it's _that_ bad." Roxas said, twirling his pasta around his fork.

"I dunno, Roxas." Axel shook his head. "It can get pretty bad."

"That's mainly because it's your fault." Roxas said.

"Okay, we don't need it here." Riku said. "Some of us are trying to eat."

"No kidding?" Axel rolled his eyes.

"Roxas, why are your nails black?" Sora was looking at his twin's nails.

"It's his fault." Roxas pointed to Axel.

"And why did you paint my brother's nails black?" Sora wondered.

"I thought he'd look good with black nails." Axel shrugged.

"Is that a bad thing, Sora?" Riku questioned as he took a drink of his Mountain Dew.

"Mom's not going to like it…" Sora started to say.

"Oh, lighten up, Sora." Roxas said. "You don't have to look out for me all the time."

"I'm your brother." Sora said. "That's what we're supposed to do."

"I don't watch out for Reno." Axel pointed out.

"Well, you should." Sora said.

"Sora, we're in high school." Axel bit into his taco. "I don't have to watch out for him anymore. I never have, actually."

"Why am I not surprised?" Roxas smiled.

"No idea." Axel shrugged. "Why aren't you?"

"It's a rhetorical question, Axel." Roxas rolled his eyes.

"It's certainly nice to see the two of you get along." Riku said, finishing his bottle of soda.

"What did Reno tell you, exactly?" Sora wondered.

"A number of things, actually." Axel said. "And Kadaj and Vexen were involved, too."

"Do Vexen and Marluxia have a theory about this as well?" Riku asked.

"What do you mean by that?" Roxas frowned.

"Well, they had a theory about Demyx and Zexion." Riku explained. "They might have a theory about this."

"They do." Axel nodded.

"And?" Riku and Sora asked simultaneously.

"It definitely won't happen and isn't true." Axel shook his head.

"What isn't?" Roxas frowned.

"I'm not going to tell you." Axel said. "It's so outlandish that I'm wondering if Vexen was serious when he told me."

"This _must_ be bad, then." Sora said.

"Did Vexen or Marluxia come up with this theory?" Roxas wondered, finishing his noodles.

"Vexen never actually said." Axel frowned as he thought. "From what Vexen told me, I would assume it's Marluxia's theory."

"Then it probably _is_ outlandish." Riku nodded. "We all know how Marluxia is."

"I think he's crazier now than he was before he started going out with Vexen." Roxas mused.

"Oh, Marly's been a little crazy for ages now, Roxas." Axel said.

"Way to state the obvious." Roxas said with a smile.

"But you just said…" Axel started to say.

"I know what I said, Axel." Roxas said.

At that moment, Cid came in and upon seeing the large number of teens from Twilight High said, "What the hell is going on here?"

"We're eating, Cid." Tidus said, wrapping his arm around Yuna.

"Well, it's past curfew." Cid announced.

"We just got done practicing!" Rikku protested.

"Yeah, like, twenty minutes ago, Rikku." Leon said.

"Back in the cabins now!" Cid yelled before walking out.

Everyone from Twilight High took this as a good sign to leave. One by one, the marching band, show choir and colour guard rose and made their way back to their cabins. Riku and Sora were in deep discussion. They couldn't believe that Roxas and Axel had gotten along so well at dinner. But how long were the good times going to last?

**I had originally planned on pairing Vincent with Yuffie, but then I thought about adding Lucrecia and it's much better. I'm trying not to make him OOC, hence the weird speech. Let me know what you think! Suggestions are always welcome, but flames will be ignored. Reviews equal love!**

**next chapter: of pianos and rehearsals**


	11. Acoustic 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Nothing at all...**

**Hallo! It's Xero! I know I said that I probably won't be updating, but I couldn't resist writing this chapter. That being said, this will be my FINAL update for D&P until after I get back from the beach since I can't write a whole chapter in a day and have it make sense. Anyway, on with the deadly tale!**

Roxas woke up the next morning to something by High and Mighty Colour, which was strange, since Roxas didn't know of anyone who listened to the Japanese band. Opening his cerulean eyes, he discovered that Axel was listening to his iPod. The redhead was lying on his bed, the music device on his chest with the headphones out of his ears. When he saw that Roxas was awake, Axel turned it off and wrapped the headphones around the iPod.

"Sorry about that." He said apologetically. "I thought it was quiet."

"Music wakes me up." Roxas sat up in his bed, rubbing his eyes. "Yet I somehow fall asleep to music."

"Any certain kind?" Axel wondered.

"Usually to bands like I Am Ghost." Roxas said.

"You like emo bands?" Roxas _loved_ Axel's confused look.

"I don't look like I do, do I?" Roxas smiled.

"Not in the slightest." Axel said. "Let me see your iPod."

"Why?" Roxas frowned.

"I want to see what bands you listen to." Axel said.

Roxas grabbed his iPod from his bag and tossed it to Axel, who scanned the many bands on the music listening device. He would smile when he came across a band he liked and frowned when he found a band that he didn't like.

"Is my taste of music that weird?" Roxas smiled, which made the butterflies erupt in Axel's stomach.

"I never thought you would listen to stuff like this." Axel smiled as well, something he did automatically when he was around Roxas.

"So let me guess, you're into metal bands?" Roxas assumed.

"Come over here." Axel gestured to his bed.

"Why?" Roxas frowned.

"So I can show you what _I_ listen to." Axel smiled, his peridot eyes playful.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Roxas laughed as he got out of his bed and made his way over to Axel's.

"I don't know, actually." Axel said and held the headphones out to the blonde. "Just put these in."

"Okay, okay." Roxas said.

The first song started out with a strange guitar-type sound followed by a heavy bass line with drums following soon after that. The vocalist could be heard singing, though screeching would probably be a better word.

"What_ is_ this, Axel?!" Roxas looked horrified.

"_Marmalade Chainsaw_ from Dir en Grey_._" Axel grinned.

"Do they have any…_quieter_ songs?" Roxas wondered.

"One second…" Axel said as he searched his iPod before finding a new song.

A piano started with some sad mournful chords before the same vocalist started singing the depressing and melancholic words. They were Japanese, but that didn't seem to matter. He was expressing his feelings through the melody and his agony was clearly present in the way he sung.

"Is this the same band?" Roxas asked.

"It's _Jealous-Reverse_ and yes, it's by Dir en Grey." Axel replied.

"But the two songs sound so different…" Roxas couldn't believe that a band could produce two completely different songs.

"No two Dir en Grey albums sound the same." Axel said. "_Taiyou no Ao_ and _Ain't Afraid to Die_ are beautiful, too."

"This is pretty." Roxas was nodding his head to the melody.

"Isn't it?" Axel smiled. "Reno hates it."

"Why?" Roxas frowned.

"Because he's Reno." Axel shrugged. "No, he just likes more upbeat songs."

"I'm not surprised." Roxas got off the bed and started to get dressed.

"So what are we getting into today?" Axel asked, turning off the iPod.

"We?" Roxas furrowed his eyebrows.

"I'm going to be hanging out with you today." Axel smiled.

"When was this decided?" Roxas wondered.

"When you were asleep." Axel answered.

"That figures." Roxas rolled his eyes.

"So what are we doing?" Axel's fingers played with the hoop in his ear.

"We have rehearsal this afternoon, right?" Roxas questioned. "So that'll take up a good part of the afternoon."

"I still need to teach you this thing for the guitar." Axel said.

"I think I've had more than enough of the guitar, Axel." Roxas said.

At that moment, the cabin door banged open and Demyx tramped inside, with Zexion not far behind him. The faux-hawked teen had his sitar in his right hand and Zexion was carrying a book, something that didn't surprise anyone.

"Wow, Zexy!" Demyx gasped when he saw Axel and Roxas being civil in the same room.

"What is it, Demyx?" Zexion sat down on Vincent's bed.

"Axel and Roxas are in the same room!" Demyx proclaimed.

"So?" Roxas and Axel said together.

"And they're not killing each other!" Demyx yelled.

"We've decided to try to get along, Demy." Axel told the sitarist.

"Wow." Zexion was surprised. "That's big news."

"It's not like I'm asking him to marry me." Axel said, to which Roxas responded by flushing deep maroon.

"What's up, Roxas?" Demyx frowned, noticing the blonde.

"Nothing, Dem." Roxas replied.

"So what are you guys doing until rehearsal?" Zexion wondered.

"I dunno." Axel shrugged. "Why?"

"Loz, Marluxia, Paine, Reno and Aeris are trying to get a kickball team together." Zexion replied.

"Why are they doing that?" Roxas frowned.

"Reno says that he wants to challenge the kids from Neverland." Demyx answered, wrapping his arm around Zexion.

"You sure have a weird brother, Axel." Zexion commented. "So do you guys want to play?"

"Not really." Roxas shook his head. "I'm not really athletic."

"You'd do fine, Roxie." Axel said, drumming his fingers against his knee.

"I _told_ you I hate that name." Roxas snapped.

"Okay, okay." Axel held his hands up in mock surrender.

"We'll see if Riku and Sora want to play." Demyx dragged Zexion out of the cabin, anxious to escape the fight that never happened.

* * *

Axel snapped out of his daydream instantaneously when Yuffie threw her drumstick at his head, hitting him somewhere in the mess of wild crimson spikes. Wheeling around, Axel saw Yuffie grinning next to the bass drum with Cloud looking on from the wind chimes.

"Dammit, Yuffie!" Axel snapped, throwing the drumstick back to the energetic drummer. "Can you get any more annoying?"

"Yep!" Yuffie grinned.

"I wouldn't ask that, Axel." Roxas called from the keyboards, his lips forming a smile.

"Oh, who asked you?" Axel asked, though the tone of his voice told the blonde that he was joking.

"Not again!" Cloud groaned.

"Dude, I was kidding?" Axel looked at Cloud. "Couldn't you tell?"

"I never know anymore." Cloud shook his head.

"Cloud, even _I_ could tell that." Roxas said.

"Yo! Listen up!" Cid yelled from the centre of the practice field.

Somehow, the marching band and colour guard got quiet in record time. The only loud ones were Leon and Xion, who were avidly discussing the latest _Resident Evil_ game.

"How do you all feel about doing _One Winged Angel, Killer Likes Candy_ and _Rebellion_ for the competition?" Cid asked the group at large.

"_Rebellion_?" Yuna wondered. "Why couldn't we do_ Tension Rising_?"

"Because that song is the worst I've ever heard!" Cid yelled.

"Then I guess it's okay." Larxene said from where she stood with rest of the colour guard.

"We have one problem, though." Cid said.

"And what's that?" Lucrecia asked, speaking for the first time that whole rehearsal.

"It seems that the judges don't like the fact that Axel only plays drums for _Rebellion_." Cid said. "Since he's technically a drummer, they felt that he should be with the drums more."

"I can do whatever, Cid." Axel twirled his drumsticks in between his fingers. "I have to use the guitar for _Killer Likes Candy_, though."

"Do you know the drum part for _One Winged Angel_?" Cid asked.

"Sephiroth gave it to me just in case." Axel said.

"Yes, but do you know how to play it?" Cid asked again.

"Yep." Axel nodded.

"We'll have you on the guitar for now." Cid said. "I'll let you know if it becomes otherwise."

"Sounds good to me." Axel said.

"Roxas, you're covering the vocals with the keyboard, right?" Cid looked to the blonde keyboardist.

"Um…yeah." Roxas said.

"Axel, just stay on the guitar." Cid told the redhead.

"Okay, then." Axel nodded.

"Is that all, Cid?" Zack wondered.

"Yes, it is." Cid said. "Just be back here for the evening practice."

"Can't we forget about it for one night, yo?" Reno asked.

"Nope!" Cid turned and walked away from the field, all the while singing, "_Let's start a riot…_"

"Why is Cid singing?" Marluxia wondered as he took apart his oboe.

"I have no idea, Marluxia." Sora said, jumping onto the platform.

"And why that particular song?" Zack questioned.

"Zack, you should know not to question Cid by now." Cloud told his boyfriend.

"It'll get you nowhere." Roxas said.

"Why aren't you packing up, Roxas?" Axel frowned, noticing that the blonde's keyboard was still set up.

"I'm going to play for a little while." Roxas said.

"But the band from Destiny Islands is going to show up in a little bit." Yuffie said, carting off the temple blocks.

"I know, but I still want to play some stuff." Roxas said. "My fingers need the exercise."

"I'm sure they do." Sora said, helping Cloud move the timpanis before taking off a snare drum.

"Mind if I watch?" Axel asked, his peridot eyes curious.

"Why?" Roxas frowned. "It's just a keyboard."

"I've never played the keyboard before." Axel admitted.

"Okay, since you taught me the guitar, you're forcing me to have to teach you how to play the keyboard." Roxas said, helping Zack cart off an amplifier.

"I can't read notes on a line very well, though." Axel said.

"It's not that hard." Roxas said. "If I can learn the guitar, you can learn how to play the piano."

"I'm just waiting for the fallout." Cloud was watching the scene before him with mixed anxiety and fascination.

"They seem to be doing fine." Demyx said, jumping on the platform to help move the xylophones.

"We _can_ hear every word you guys are saying." Axel turned to face everyone else, remaining where he stood in front of Roxas. "You do know that, right?"

"Of course." Zack and Sora said together.

"I'm leaving!" Yuffie announced. "I'm gonna play Hearts with Kairi, Olette, Naminè and Aeris."

"Have fun with that." Zack said. "Let's go, Cloud."

"Okay…" Cloud said hesitantly as his boyfriend dragged him off the platform.

"I have to find Riku." Sora said. "He's complaining about how we're not spending any quality time with each other."

"You see him every day!" Axel exclaimed. "How are you not spending quality time with him?"

"Who knows?" Sora shrugged as he walked off the stage.

"So what first?" Axel asked the blonde while everyone else left.

"I'm playing _L's Theme_ first." Roxas said. "It's a great warm-up."

And he launched into the song, his hands moving wildly across the keyboard. Axel recognized the song as the theme for a popular character from _Death Note_, but it sounded strange without the drumbeats, so he provided the beats by tapping his fingers on the black keyboard.

Roxas kept playing the same melody for a while before it changed and he slammed his fingers into the plastic keys for a few different notes before returning to the original melody. This repeated several times before the song ended, the last notes lingering in the air.

"Nice…" Axel grinned.

"You wouldn't believe how long it took me to memorize that." Roxas said, smiling back.

"What others do you know?" Axel asked.

"I know a lot from My Chemical Romance and some from Tokio Hotel." Roxas said. "_Spring Nicht _and _By Your Side_ are really pretty on piano."

"If you say so." Axel said.

"So put your hands like this." Roxas put both of his hands on separate octaves, but otherwise in the same place.

"What song am I learning today?" Axel asked, half nervous about the whole ordeal.

"_Helena_ from My Chemical Romance." Roxas replied.

"I like that song!" Axel exclaimed, looking very relieved.

"I would hope so since you're going to be playing it." Roxas said.

"So I put my hands here?" Axel asked, placing his hands on the plastic keys an octave below Roxas'.

"Yep. And the first chord is like this." Roxas moved his hands and played the chord so Axel would know how it sounded.

"Like this?" Axel moved his hands as well and pressed down on the keys, but played the wrong chord.

"Move your left pinkie down." Roxas said. "And make your other fingers follow."

"So it's like this?" Axel finally got the right note.

"Yep!" Roxas grinned. "Do you want me to play the whole first verse so you can hear how it sounds? Sometimes that can help with people who've never played something like this before."

"That would be cool." Axel nodded.

So Roxas played the whole first verse of _Helena_, his fingers moving slowly up and down the ivory-white keys. As he played, his lips formed the words to the song and Axel could just hear the song perfectly in his mind.

"Think you can give it a shot?" Roxas asked.

"Um, no!" Axel exclaimed. "Can I learn the other chords first?"

"That would make sense, huh?" Roxas smiled.

"Definitely." Axel nodded.

"So put your hands back like you had them before." Roxas said, placing his own fingers on the keyboard.

"Okay…" Axel complied and waited for further instructions.

"And move them to this position." Roxas said, accidentally brushing his hand against Axel's.

Neither of them did anything for a few minutes. Then Roxas' hand jumped back as if he'd touched lightning. Axel's hand wasn't freezing, but for some reason it sent a shiver up Roxas' spine.

"So here?" Axel asked, deciding to ignore the event of a few minutes prior.

"Yeah." Roxas said, his voice shaking slightly.

"You okay?" Axel asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Roxas said.

"Roxas! Axel!"

Axel and Roxas turn to see Kairi standing at the foot of the platform, looking up at them.

"What's up, Kai?" Axel wondered.

"Cid told me to tell you that you need to get off the platform because the band from Destiny Islands wants to play." Kairi said.

"Okay, let's go." Axel grabbed Roxas and dragged him off the platform while Roxas tried to make sense of the strange event that had just occurred.

**I absolutely adore _Helena_ on the piano! I know there's a lot of music, but it's a band camp, for Shiva's sake! And I really believe that music can tell a lot about a person. Which is why, if you've been paying attention, things are a bit obvious. ^_ ^ I would LOVE to have a full inbox of reviews and stuff like that when I get back next week. Can we make that happen? reviews equal love!**

**next chapter: not your average high school dance. **


	12. Masquerade

**Disclaimer: I own NOTHING!!!!!! Nothing, I tell you!**

**Hallo! It's Xero! Thanks for the many reviews that I got while I was at the beach. I had thirty some messages waiting for me when I got back. It was great! *huggles reviewers* I've been itching to write this chapter for a long time, so I hope it's okay. On with the deadly tale!**

Two teenagers sat alone by the basketball court, though there wasn't a basketball in sight. Riku and Sora had never been one to play a serious game of basketball, though they'd been known to play a game of HORSE every now and then.

"Do you think Axel's serious?" Riku asked his boyfriend.

"About what?" Sora wondered, brushing his hair from his eyes.

"About trying to get along with Roxas?" Riku asked.

"I think he is." Sora nodded.

"You think so?" Riku frowned.

"I mean, look at him when he's around Roxas." Sora explained. "It's kind of obvious when you think about it."

"But what about Roxas?" Riku wondered. "Do you think he really wants to get along with Axel?"

"I dunno." Sora shrugged.

"You're not telling me something, Sora." Riku smiled. "You know you're a rotten liar."

"Why does everyone say that?!" Sora demanded.

"Because it's true, honey." Riku laughed. "So what is it?"

"Well, you _have_ seen Roxas around Axel, haven't you?" Sora asked the silver-haired teen.

"I think he likes Axel, if that's what you mean." Riku said. "We've gone over this before, Sora."

"Oh, yeah." Sora said.

"Would you mind if your brother went out with Axel?" Riku wondered.

"If Roxas is happy with him, then I wouldn't care." Sora shook his head.

"So if Roxas fell in love with a drug dealer…" Riku started.

"I'd have to put my foot down." Sora said. "Why, is Axel a dealer?"

"Of course not." Riku shook his head.

"Then why'd you say it?" Sora wondered.

"Just for clarity's sake." Riku smiled. "But you don't care?"

"I think Roxas wants to be with Axel more than he realizes." Sora leaned against his boyfriend. "I mean, just the way he _looks_ at him gives that away."

"But do you think Roxas knows he wants him?" Riku questioned.

"I think so." Sora nodded. "Do you think that Axel knows he wants Roxas?"

"Clearly." Riku nodded. "Look at the way he looks at Roxas."

"But they've been fighting for months." Sora retorted.

"I think that's because Axel didn't want to admit it for a while." Riku brushed his hair from his eyes while holding on to Sora.

"Explain." Sora said.

"Well, he broke up with Larxene not too long ago." Riku pointed out. "It has to be weird falling for another guy when you've just broken up with your girlfriend."

"Unless Roxas was the reason why Axel ended it with Larxene!" Sora gasped.

"I don't think that's what happened." Riku sighed. "You jump the gun too much, Sora."

"I know." Sora grinned at his boyfriend.

"Then why do you keep doing it?" Riku questioned.

"I dunno." Sora snuggled closer to Riku. "You know me."

* * *

Axel was playing _The Last Of The Wilds_ on his guitar when Roxas walked into the cabin, carrying his DS. The redhead had to remind himself not to stare at the blonde for too long or Roxas would get suspicious. And a suspicious Roxas was the last thing Axel needed.

"Damn thing died on me." Roxas hissed as he slammed the charger into the DS.

"It's about time." Axel grinned. "You play the thing so much…"

"I just charged it a few nights ago." Roxas flopped down on his bed in disgust.

"Sounds like you need a new battery, Rox." Axel said.

"What did you call me?" Roxas gazed at the redhead with narrowed eyes.

"Rox." Axel repeated. "Is that bad?"

"No one's ever called me that before." Roxas replied.

"Really?" Axel frowned.

"Yep." Roxas nodded.

"So what are you doing until the afternoon rehearsal?" Axel wondered, setting Sadie gently against the wall.

"I have no idea, actually." Roxas shrugged. "Since my DS died, I don't have much to do."

"Hey, what did Hayner want a few days ago?" Axel wondered. "Remember when he stopped by after the rehearsal?"

"You were right, Axel." Roxas sighed.

"About what?" Axel narrowed his eyes.

"Hayner wanted to get back with me." Roxas admitted.

"I told you!" Axel grinned. "Was it a surprise?"

"Yeah, it was, actually." Roxas said.

"Really?" Axel was clearly surprised. "You couldn't tell?"

"He used to act like that a lot, so I didn't think much of it." Roxas ran his fingers through his hair.

"So what did you tell him?" Axel asked curiously. "Did you say yes?"

"Nope." Roxas shook his head.

"Why not?" Axel wondered.

"Because there's another guy I like." Roxas admitted, his face flushed. "Even though I know for a fact that it won't work out."

"Hmm." Axel nodded.

"What's wrong?" Roxas noticed the redhead's strange behaviour.

"I'm just thinking." Axel answered.

"About what?" Roxas wondered.

"Nothing in particular." Axel lied easily. He didn't want Roxas to know what he was really thinking about.

"So what are _you_ doing until rehearsal?" Roxas wanted to know.

"I was going to play Sadie for a bit on Sadie, but I guess I won't since you're here." Axel said.

"Sadie on Sadie?" Roxas frowned.

"Sadie is a Japanese metal band." Axel explained. "They sound a hell of a lot like Dir en Grey."

"Just what we need." Roxas smiled. "More screaming Japanese guys."

"You know you liked _Ain't Afraid to Die_ though." Axel grinned.

"Okay, one song." Roxas rolled his eyes. "And I liked _Hades_ and _Audience Killer Loop_ too."

"You didn't hear those from me." Axel frowned. "Did you look them up on YouTube?"

"I wanted to see if they were that crazy in their other songs." Roxas admitted sheepishly. "They sound pretty good."

"Well, I see I've converted someone else." Axel grinned, causing Roxas' stomach to perform back flips. "Reno's not going to be happy."

"Why not?" Roxas frowned.

"Reno isn't that fond of Dir en Grey." Axel explained. "He doesn't like it when I get other people into them."

"We don't have to tell him, though." Roxas said.

"Sounds like a plan to me." Axel nodded. "But if he finds you listening to _Child Prey _or one of their other songs, you're on your own."

"Thanks so much." Roxas rolled his eyes.

"We can see if Vexen and Kadaj want to play poker." Axel offered. "Vexen always looses and Kadaj isn't that good at it."

"Does he know how to play?" Roxas frowned as he followed Axel out of the cabin.

"Oh, he does." Axel nodded. "He just sucks at poker."

"Sounds like it." Roxas agreed.

When they reached Reno, Vexen and Kadaj's cabin a few minutes later, they found Kadaj playing something on a red Game Boy Advance SP while his PSP charged nearby. Reno was working on some Sociology homework whilst Vexen had a rather large AP Chemistry textbook before him.

"How is it so boring in here?" Axel questioned as he poked Kadaj in the ribs.

"We're doing homework." Reno said.

"Yeah, that looks a lot like homework, Kadaj." Axel said, gazing over the silver-haired teen's shoulder to see what he was playing.

"I'm all done mine." Kadaj glared at Axel.

"You brought Roxas along, yo?" Reno frowned.

"He was bored, too." Axel shrugged. "We were hoping you guys were up for poker."

"I'm working." Vexen snapped.

"No kidding?" Roxas smiled.

"I'd play, but you know I'm horrible." Kadaj said.

"That's never stopped you before." Vexen gazed at Kadaj.

"Yeah, but I don't really feel like loosing to Axel today." Kadaj said. "Or Reno, for that matter."

"Thanks a lot, Kadaj, yo." Reno rolled his eyes. He faced his twin and said, "I'm doing homework, too. Why don't you see about Tidus? I'm sure he play something with you, yo."

"You know he's going to be with Yuna." Axel retorted.

"Then what about Kairi and Tifa?" Kadaj asked.

"They're going to be together, too." Roxas said.

"Let's go, Roxas." Axel said, dragging the blonde out of the cabin. "Maybe Riku and Sora will do something."

"They're probably making out." Roxas looked slightly sick.

"Is that a bad thing?" Axel frowned.

"I just don't want to imagine my brother making out with his boyfriend." Roxas explained.

They reached the soccer field a few minutes later and found Zack shooting goals into the empty net. This didn't surprise Axel and Roxas in the slightest, since they knew that Zack played for the Twilight High soccer team. And he was very good, too.

"The season doesn't start for a while, you know." Roxas smiled.

"I know." Zack said, knee-dribbling the soccer ball. "Cloud's doing homework with Rikku and Leon and I'm bored."

"Sounds like fun." Roxas grabbed the ball from the obsidian-haired teen and shot it on the goal.

"I didn't know you played soccer, Roxas." Axel frowned at the blonde.

"I played soccer for a few years when I was a kid." Roxas grinned. "Striker and defender."

"Really?" Axel was clearly surprised, as was Zack.

"Yep." Roxas was still grinning as he sprinted to the goal to retrieve the soccer ball.

"Then why do you always say that you're not athletic?" Zack wondered.

"Because I've gotten really out of shape since I stopped playing." Roxas answered, now bouncing the ball on his head.

"What about you, Axel?" Zack asked.

"Mum made Reno and I play for a few years." Axel said. "I played longer than Reno did."

"Why'd you quit?" Zack asked, stealing the ball from Roxas and dashing up the field.

"I got sick of it." Axel shrugged.

"So what are we doing tonight?" Zack asked.

"You're going to be with Cloud, aren't you?" Roxas frowned.

"Yep." Zack grinned. "But what about you guys?"

"I'm probably going to dwell on the fact that this is the first time in a while that I don't a boyfriend." Roxas shrugged.

"I don't have a girlfriend, either." Axel pointed out.

"But you don't have to worry about her being straight, since she probably already is." Roxas told him. "Sometimes it sucks to be gay."

"Yeah, it does." Zack agreed. "All the hot guys are straight."

"And I guess that's a bad thing?" Axel mused.

"If you're gay, it is." Roxas said.

"But you haven't thought of seeing anyone else since you broke up with Hayner?" Zack asked.

"Oh, I found a guy I like." Roxas admitted.

"So why haven't you asked him out yet?" Axel wondered.

"Because I know that it won't work out." Roxas shook his head. "I already told you, Axel."

"What about you?" Zack asked the redhead. "Found a girl you like yet?"

"Nope." Axel shook his head.

It wasn't like he was lying. He hadn't found a girl he liked, but he found a guy he wanted instead.

* * *

After rehearsal, the band was about to pack up and head back to their cabins when Yuna and Rikku took Cid's place in the centre of the field.

"What now?" Marluxia demanded, clearly annoyed.

"It's our night to have to the Mess Hall so Rikku and I are going to have a dance." Yuna announced.

"What in hell are you talking about?" Axel demanded from the percussion platform.

"You all need to learn how to dance." Rikku chimed in. "It's pathetic watching you all."

"We can so dance!" Yazoo protested.

"Not classical dances, you can't." Yuna said.

"I refuse to learn the Tango!" Xion said from the colour guard section.

"We'll do easy ones like the Box Step first." Yuna assured them. "Just be in the Mess Hall in ten minutes."

"This is insane." Roxas protested as he helped clear the percussion platform.

"I can already dance." Axel said.

"I'm not sure we want to see that, Axel." Cloud said, moving the gong down the ramp.

"I won't make you guys see it." Axel said.

"Thank Shiva for that." Yuffie said, carting off the snare drums.

"Are we going?" Roxas asked the redhead.

"I don't want Yuna complaining about it for the rest of camp, so I guess we'll have to go." Axel didn't look happy about this in the slightest.

"I know I don't want Yuna on my ass later." Roxas sighed.

"Roxas, you're gay, remember?" Yuffie reminded the blonde.

"No kidding?" Roxas rolled his eyes.

"You kinda set yourself up for that one, Roxas." Cloud grinned.

"Oh, what do you know?" Roxas glared at Cloud.

"Let's go, Roxas." Axel grabbed Roxas and pulled him off the platform.

"You want to deal with Rikku and Yuna so soon?" Roxas gazed sceptically at the redhead.

"Well, we might as well get it over with." Axel said as they approached the Mess Hall.

When they arrived, they found that the Mess Hall had been transformed into a dance floor. Disco lights hung from the ceiling and Rikku was working with the speaker system.

"Good God, Rikku." Axel rolled his eyes. "Can we trust you with the music?"

"Lighten up, Axel." Rikku glared at the redhead. "It'll be fun and you know it."

"Yeah, because every guy wants to be taught how to dance." Axel rolled his eyes.

"What songs are we dancing to, Rikku?" Roxas asked.

"Some good stuff." Rikku said.

"Like?" Axel and Roxas said together.

Yuna came up from behind them and said, "Some Tokio Hotel, Evanescence, Simple Plan…"

"At least it's rock." Roxas said.

"I wanted to use _Rising Sun_, but Yuna said no." Rikku glared at the other girl.

"Rikku, no one knows who DBSK is." Yuna said.

"I do." Axel said.

"I'm sure." Yuna said before turning to Rikku. "Just turn the music on, Rikku."

"Okay, fine." Rikku scowled as she put on something from the Black Eyed Peas.

Teens started to arrive slowly and usually in pairs. Kairi and Tifa arrived with Cloud and Zack and Vincent and Lucrecia showed up with Demyx and Zexion and Sora and Riku. The disco lights flashed around the room, contrasting strangely with the backlights.

"This is so weird." Axel said in the middle of _Going Under_.

"Lighten up, Axel." Sora said, joining his brother and the redhead with Riku not far behind him.

"Okay, let's get started!" Yuna announced. "We're going to start off with _Self-Inflicted._ I'm sure there's really no one who protests listening to Katy Perry, is there?"

"Vexen would if he was here." Xion said.

"And is he?" Yuna asked. "No, so we're getting started."

The bass started before the vocals came in and the teens were dancing around performing very obscure moves. Tidus and Yuna were jumping up and down together whilst Zack and Cloud simply spun around in circles.

_No, I can't stop. Don't care if I loose. Baby, you are the weapon I choose. These wounds are self-inflicted. I'm going down in flames for you. Baby, you are the weapon I chose. These wounds are self-inflicted. One more thing I'm addicted to._

"This is kinda fun!" Yuffie explained as she bounded past Roxas and Axel.

"You look you're like having fun, Roxas." Axel grinned.

"I love this song!" Roxas laughed as he jumped around in a circle.

"No, kidding?" Axel rolled his eyes.

"I love dancing to stuff like this." Roxas grinned, still jumping, but stopped as the song ended.

"So what next?" Axel wondered.

"Okay, now's the slow dance." Yuna said. "We're going to make everyone dance with their partner so you know how to dance to slow stuff."

"So what are we dancing to?" Lucrecia wondered.

"_Iris_ by the Goo-Goo Dolls." Rikku replied.

The guitar chords started a few seconds later, followed by the vocals. Tidus and Yuna were latched onto each other and Riku and Sora seemed to be dancing together as well.

Roxas looked at Axel and said, "Wanna dance?"

"Not really, but okay." Axel wrapped his arms around Roxas' waist whilst Roxas latched himself onto the taller redhead.

They simply swayed to the music for what felt like an eternity. Axel didn't really look pleased to be dancing in the first place, but for some reason, he looked like he didn't mind dancing with Roxas, which confused many of the teens in the room.

"I love this song." Axel said, breaking the silence.

"Really?" Roxas looked up at the redhead. "I thought you hated stuff like this."

"I like the lyrics." Axel said. "It's kind of how I'm feeling right now."

"About who?" Roxas asked.

"It doesn't matter who." Axel shook his head.

"Yeah, it does." Roxas nodded as the song ended.

"What next?" Sora wondered.

At that particular moment, the doors opened rather loudly and Cid sauntered into the room. He looked around at the group of teens for a moment before saying, "What's going on here?"

"We're dancing, Cid." Yuna said.

"Well, Sephiroth said that he could hear you guys from the chorus field, so that's a sure sign that you're too loud." Cid said. "Time to break up the party."

"But we've only listened to two songs!" Rikku protested.

"I don't want Sephiroth on my ass later saying that I didn't do anything." Cid said. "Besides, it's curfew, anyway."

"Whoopee." Riku groaned.

"Let's get going, people!" Cid yelled as he stormed out of the Mess Hall.

"That was kind of pointless, huh?" Axel said as he walked out with Roxas. "But you looked like you had fun, Roxas."

"I like dancing sometimes." Roxas said. "But you never told me why you like _Iris_."

"Does it really matter, Roxas?" Axel asked.

"I'd like to know why." Roxas said.

"I found a girl I like." Axel said, though he knew this was partially a lie.

"You told Zack-" Roxas said.

"Because I know Zack would go and spread it everywhere." Axel said. "So you tell me instead?" Roxas stopped walking and faced the redhead.

"I trust you, Roxas." Axel said.

"So who is she?" Roxas asked.

"I'm not going to tell you, but I know she doesn't like me." Axel said.

"You should tell her, Axel." Roxas said.

"That's what Larxene said." Axel replied.

"Maybe she'll like you back." Roxas said. "And if she doesn't, well, you can't say that you haven't tried."

"Yeah." Axel said slowly, following Roxas into the cabin, trying not to get lost in his thoughts.

**Dancing! Woo! I finally got an iPod, so I was listening to it with my new iHome speakers as I wrote this. I hope it was good! And while I was at the beach, I got ideas for TWO AkuRoku oneshots. I finished the first one and will be updating it when I post this chapter. reviews equal love!**

**next chapter: places?**


	13. Love Like Winter

**Disclaimer: It would be VERY strange if something like this really happened.**

**Konnichiwa! It's Xero! This is kind of a slow chapter, but it's an important one. Kind of. I needed something and I thought this would be a good chapter. I'm trying not to focus on Roxas and Axel too much so I'm getting Zexion and Demyx into the picture. Zemyx fans won't complain, I'm sure. Let the deadly tale continue!**

The morning of the eighth day came quickly for some and slowly for others. The colour guard was exhausted from running routines all day, so they fell asleep easily. The rest of the band didn't like the fact that they were in their cabins at nine O'clock at night, so they ended up staying awake for several hours.

So the morning of the eighth day found Zexion and Demyx sitting on the soccer field, Demyx dribbling a soccer ball on his knees. Zexion was doing something on his cell phone, but he was still talking to his boyfriend at the same time.

"So do we know what's up with Vincent and Lucrecia?" Demyx asked, hitting the soccer ball on his head.

"I think Vincent likes her, but I don't know if she likes him." Zexion said, his thumbs moving across the texting keyboard.

"Really?" Demyx was surprised.

"It's kind of obvious, Demyx." Zexion said, looking up at the sitarist.

"How?!" Demyx demanded, looking at the other teen in confusion.

"Look at the way Vincent acts around her." Zexion explained. "He acts radically different around her than he does when he's around, say, Sora or Selphie."

"You think so?" Demyx looked like he didn't believe his lover.

"You can't see it?" Zexion asked.

"No…" Demyx said sadly.

"Never mind, then." Zexion shook his head.

"But why are Axel and Roxas acting all friendly now?" Demyx wondered.

"They're trying to get along now, Demyx." Zexion answered. "Axel told us, remember?"

"He did?" Demyx frowned at Zexion. "Isn't that a bit weird for them, though?"

"What do you mean?" Now it was Zexion's turn to be confused.

"Roxas and Axel have been fighting for ages. It's just one of the things they do." Demyx explained. "Don't you think that Axel might have some ulterior motive behind his actions?"

"Ulterior?" Zexion smiled. "That's a big word for you, Demyx."

"I'm serious, Zexy!" Demyx flailed his arms about aimlessly.

"Sure, it's strange, but I don't think anyone's going to complain about it." Zexion returned to his phone for a minute before looking up at his boyfriend again. "Axel isn't the type of guy who'd do something like this and double-cross someone."

"Why do you say that?" Demyx sat down next to the other teen.

"Because I think that's what you think is going to happen." Zexion clarified.

"I don't want to see Roxas get hurt." Demyx rested his head on Zexion's shoulder.

"Roxas knows how to take care of himself." Zexion told the faux-hawked teen. "I don't think Roxas would have anything to do with Axel if he knew he'd get hurt."

"Oh." Demyx said simply.

"Roxas knows what he's doing." Zexion told Demyx. "He's not like Loz or Yazoo."

"I certainly hope so." Demyx said, sending a worried look in the direction of his boyfriend.

* * *

Cloud Strife saw an unusual scene when he walked into cabin six. Roxas and Axel were sitting in the middle of the floor playing a card game. Axel was flipping cards at a furiously fast pace, but Roxas was taking things slower than the redhead.

"Do my eyes deceive me?" Cloud walked over to his bed. "What possibly made the two of you get along?"

"I told you that we were trying to get along, Cloud." Axel said.

"So what are you guys playing?" Cloud sprawled out on his bed, eyes on the card game between the redhead and the blonde,

"007." Roxas said, snatching up a card and putting it in the pile. "Game!"

"Dammit!" Axel yelled in aggravation.

"I'm just glad to see the two of you getting along." Cloud smiled.

"It's not that weird." Roxas said, putting the cards back in a pile.

"Going from at least three arguments a day to getting along is very weird, Roxas." Cloud said. "Like I said, I'm still waiting for the fall out."

"There won't be one." Axel said, leaning back against the foot of Vincent's bed.

"Oh?" Cloud raised an eyebrow.

"No fall out." Axel shook his head.

"I'll remind you that when you guys aren't talking anymore." Cloud said.

"I kind of like not arguing anymore, though." Roxas said.

"And that's a good thing." Axel told Cloud.

"No kidding?" Cloud rolled his eyes. "So what are we doing until rehearsal?"

"Roxas and I are going to play Egyptian Rat Screw." Axel said, the tone of his voice clearly saying that Cloud wasn't allowed to play.

"With two people?" Cloud raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, it can be done, Cloud." Roxas said.

"Well, I'll go find Zack." Cloud said, walking out of the cabin.

So the game of Egyptian Rat Screw commenced, but it didn't last very long. Both Roxas and Axel agreed that it wasn't very much fun to play when there were under six players, so they simply called it off.

"But what are we going to do now?" Roxas wondered as Axel gathered up the cards.

"We could always talk." Axel shrugged, tossing the deck of playing cards into his backpack. "We don't really know that much about each other."

"Other than the fact that we're both twins." Roxas pointed out.

"That's kind of obvious with you and Sora." Axel smiled. "So how about we just ask each other questions? It'll be less awkward to be around each other if we know about each other."

"It's not awkward now." Roxas shook his head. "But okay, I guess I'll deal with it."

"Okay…favourite type of music?" Axel asked as he picked up Sadie by the neck.

"Anything rock. I like screamo and stuff like I Am Ghost, too." Roxas said. "You?"

"Rock and metal." Axel grinned. "But you like Katy Perry and she's technically pop, isn't she?"

"I like _some_ pop stuff, but I can't stand R&B." Roxas shuddered. "And you listen to soundtrack music some, don't you?"

"Hey, _The Legend of Zelda_ has amazing music." Axel pretended to be angry, but Roxas could tell that he was faking.

"Okay…what's your favourite colour?" Roxas asked.

"Black." Axel grinned as chords from _The Sharpest Lives _filled the cabin. "Or black mixed with red."

"That's not a colour, stupid." Roxas laughed.

"Well, it is to me." Axel smiled back, causing Roxas' stomach to do back flips. "And you?"

"Orange or purple." Roxas said.

"Really?" Axel was obviously surprised.

"Most people don't think I'd like them." Roxas said with a nod.

"They're just strange colours for you to like." Axel said. "Okay, favourite time of the day?"

"Right before I fall asleep." Roxas replied, brushing a strand of hair from his eyes.

"Now why is that?" Axel asked, pretending to be scholarly for some reason.

"Because I get a chance to think." Roxas said.

"About what?" Axel wondered, now playing the opening to _Sieben._

"Him." Roxas said unblushingly, which really surprised him. "Well, I've been thinking of him a lot lately."

"The guy you like?" Axel smiled.

"And about how it won't work out." Roxas nodded sadly.

"Why not?" Axel frowned.

"Because he's straight." Roxas said. "Didn't I tell you?"

"You just told me that it wouldn't work out." Axel shook his head. "You never told me why."

"Well, that's why." Roxas said. "And it sucks to the point of no return that I can't go out with him."

"Who is he?" Axel wondered. "Maybe he isn't straight."

"He broke up with his girlfriend not too long ago." Roxas said, as if this settled the matter.

"Ah." Axel said simply. "I see."

"Exactly." Roxas sighed. "So what's your favourite time? Since we should be getting back to the original question and not talking about my boyfriend problems."

"I like any time of the night." Axel said. "Especially at midnight."

"Gee, why am I not surprised?" Roxas rolled his eyes.

"It's creepy at midnight." Axel shrugged. "Reno loves it, too."

"Reno's a bit loopy, though, Axel." Roxas reminded the redhead.

"He's my brother, isn't he?" Axel shrugged. "I know Reno better than anyone can possibly imagine."

At that particular moment, Yuna and Kadaj stormed into the cabin. Yuna was dragging Kadaj by the ear and he didn't look too happy about that in the slightest.

"What now, Yuna?" Roxas and Axel asked together.

"Where is my nail polish, Axel?" Yuna demanded, still holding onto Kadaj's ear.

"Why is it when something goes missing, you always blame me?" Axel asked her, his voice obviously annoyed.

"Because you're usually behind it." Yuna snapped. "And Leon said he saw you and Kadaj sneaking into my cabin a few days ago and I can't find my black nail polish."

"I wanted to paint Roxas' nails black." Axel said, playing with the hoop in his ear.

"Now why would you do that?" Yuna demanded, finally releasing Kadaj from her death-grip.

"Because he looks good with it?" Axel's response sounded like a question.

"Can I speak?" Kadaj asked timidly.

"No!" Yuna snapped. Facing Axel again, she asked, "But couldn't you have used Larxene's?"

"Are you kidding me?!" Axel looked absolutely astounded. "She'd kill me on the spot!"

"She let's me use hers." Yuna frowned. "Why wouldn't she let you?"

"Who knows?" Axel shrugged. "I don't have a death-wish, Yuna."

"But where _is_ it?!" Yuna demanded.

"I put it back in your cabin when I was finished with it." Axel said, running his fingers through his hair. "I don't know where it went after that."

"Sounds like I need to question some people in my cabin." Yuna said, dragging Kadaj out of the cabin.

"I think I know why Larxene won't let you use her stuff." Roxas said.

"Oh yeah?" Axel raised an eyebrow.

"Because you broke up with her." Roxas said. "Some girlfriends get like that after a break up."

"It was mutual." Axel informed him. "And how do you know about having girlfriends? You're gay."

"Kairi is one of my best friends." Roxas said. "She's always talking about her girlfriends."

"Past and present?" Axel assumed.

"You know it." Roxas sighed. "I hope she notices that I don't talk about Hayner that much around her."

"How's he doing since you turned him down?" Axel asked out of curiosity.

"I haven't really talked to him since then." Roxas answered, brushing a strand of hair from his eyes. "You think I was too hard on him?"

"Doesn't seem like it to me." Axel shook his head. "You told him that you don't love him any more, right?"

"As gently as I possibly could." Roxas replied. "Hayner gets upset easily, but he didn't seem to depressed when I said no."

"He's probably okay, Roxas." Axel said, finishing up _Sieben_ and starting on _Augen Auf._

"I hope so." Roxas said. "I didn't want to hurt him."

"He's probably fine." Axel said. "So what about your favourite place?"

It took Roxas a few seconds to figure out what Axel was talking about, but he realized what their conversation had been about before the intrusion of Kadaj and Yuna. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Winter."

"Winter's a season, Roxas." Axel laughed.

"I don't care where as long as it's winter and snowing." Roxas said. "It could be Traverse Town or Destiny Islands and I wouldn't care."

"Yeah, I imagine they get a lot of snow in Destiny Islands." Axel grinned.

"Oh, you know what I mean." Roxas rolled his eyes as he climbed onto his bed. "And what about you?"

"I like Sunset Hill." Axel said.

"Really?" Roxas looked surprised. "Why?"

"It just seems peaceful." Axel shrugged. "I can't really explain it."

"Then don't try to." Roxas shrugged. "That's usually a good thing to do."

"Yeah, no kidding?" Axel said. After hesitating, he said, "This isn't as awkward as I thought it'd be."

"What do you mean?" Roxas frowned, flipping on his stomach.

"Getting along with you." Axel said, setting Sadie gently on the floor.

"Why would it be awkward?" Roxas wondered.

"Well, we fight so much that I didn't really think we could be civil to each other." Did Roxas hear a trace of regret in Axel's voice?

"I think we could, but it would be incredibly hard." Roxas said, running his fingers through his hair.

"Is it hard now?" Axel's question had a definite amount of seriousness in it.

"No, not really." Roxas shook his head. "I mean, it's still weird getting along with you, but I think I like this better than arguing with you every day."

"I know I do." Axel smiled, causing the butterflies to erupt in Roxas' stomach.

"I don't even remember why we started fighting to begin with." Roxas frowned. "Do you?"

"No idea." Axel shook his head.

Of course both teens knew the reason for their arguing, but neither was going to admit it. There was no way _that_ was going to happen.

**A fun chapter, if you want to call it that. I'm trying to think of other things to put in this. It's hard since I haven't been to band camp...as I said, I welcome suggestions, but flames will be dealt with. Reviews equal love!**

**next chapter: oh, boy. THIS could get interesting...**


	14. Firefly

**Disclaimer: Wouldn't it be cool if I owned this?**

**Hallo! It's Xero! Sorry this has taken so long to update. My computer crashed over the weekend...so I couldn't update anything because I didn't have Word installed until about an hour ago. I have a feeling that I will make many KH fans happy with this chapter. on with the deadly tale!**

It looked like it was going to be a boring afternoon. The evening rehearsal was still a few hours away and there wasn't really much to do to kill time. Riku and Sora had gotten a soccer game going with some kids from the Agrabah chorus, but hardly anyone in the Twilight High marching band played soccer. Zack, of course, was the lone exception and joined Sora and Riku in their little escapade.

"Let's go see if there's anything going on in the Mess Hall." Roxas said to Axel, who had been playing _Dead Lovers' Lane_ on his guitar.

"There won't be anything to do, Roxas." Axel said, glancing at the blonde.

"Well, then we can walk around a bit." Roxas said, jumping up and down.

"Getting stir crazy?" Axel laughed.

"I'm bored, Axel!" Roxas protested.

"I can teach you the last part of _Forever_." Axel pointed out. "You know you still need to finish it."

"I don't think I like the guitar as much as I do the piano." Roxas said, grabbing Axel's arm and dragging him out of the cabin.

"Can't I put Sadie back in the cabin, Roxie?" Axel wondered.

"No, because you'll stay there." Roxas said, though he released Axel from his death grip.

"Give me a break…" Axel sighed.

"Maybe Larxene will be there." Roxas said, ignoring a loud group of teens from Wonderland.

"What makes you think I want to see her?" Axel looked suspiciously at the blonde.

"Maybe you should get back with her." Roxas said.

"No, it's over between us." Axel said, running his hand through the wild spikes.

"Then who did you fall for?" Roxas frowned. "Is she in the band?"

"Yeah." Axel nodded.

"So I know her…" Roxas suddenly looked confused and said, "But you wouldn't go out with any of the girls in the band! Unless…"

"Unless what, Roxas?" Axel was finding this very amusing for some reason.

"Unless you're lying." Roxas said.

"I used to fight with her all the time." Axel said. "But we get along much better now."

"Are you sure you're not falling for your ex again?" Roxas asked playfully.

"No, I'm positive." Axel said. "And what about this guy you like, hmm?"

"What about him?" Roxas challenged.

"I don't know who he is yet." Axel said.

"If I go out with him, then you'll know." Roxas said. "But that won't happen since he's straight."

"So the chances of you going out with him…" Axel started to say.

"Me going out with him is about as likely as Hitler realizing that killing the Undesirables was wrong." Roxas said.

"Which never happened." Axel said. "But that sucks, though."

"What does?" Roxas brushed a strand of hair from his azure eyes.

"That you can't go out with him because he's straight." Axel explained. "Sounds like it sucks to be gay sometimes."

"You have no idea." Roxas gave a short laugh.

When they reached the Mess Hall a few seconds later, Roxas and Axel found a strange sight before them. Some kids from Hollow Bastion were there, which was nothing unusual. The weird thing was that Axel and Roxas recognized one of them.

They never thought they'd see Seifer again, which was perfectly understandable since he moved to Hollow Bastion a year ago. He'd originally been a drummer, leaving the percussion section lessened when he moved. It was one of the reasons why Axel because the dual drummer and guitarist.

Seifer looked just as surprised to see Axel and Roxas, especially Roxas. Seifer had wanted to go out with the blonde, but Roxas had chosen Hayner instead. They had a bit of a rough time after that, but they moved on and soon became friends again.

"I didn't expect to see you here, Seifer." Axel said.

"Did you really think I'd quit band?" Seifer asked when he reached the group. "I've heard that the two of you haven't been getting along too well."

"We're fine now." Roxas said.

"How did you find out about that?" Axel frowned.

"I talked to Kairi a little earlier today." Seifer replied with a shrug. "She didn't tell me that you guys were doing better."

"So how are things at Hollow Bastion?" Roxas asked.

"Not as good as being at Twilight High, let me tell you." Seifer groaned. "The people in the band are all assholes."

"Sounds like a pain." Axel said.

"Still going out with Hayner?" Seifer asked Roxas.

"No, we broke up." Roxas shook his head. "And I'm assuming that you haven't found anyone, either."

"I went out with this one guy, but he was really annoying, so I dumped him." Seifer said. "He wouldn't leave me alone!"

"Sounds pretty bad." Roxas said.

"What about you, Axel?" Seifer asked the redhead.

"I broke up with Larxene." Axel said. "It wasn't going well."

"That's surprising." Seifer said. "The fact that you went out with her, I mean."

"Why's that?" Axel asked as he followed Roxas and Seifer to a table.

"You two seem like complete opposites." Seifer answered. "How long did it last?"

"A few months, but it was amazing." Axel said. "When we weren't fighting, I mean."

"At least it lasted for a little bit, Axel." Roxas told him.

"But do you like anyone else?" Seifer asked.

"Oh yeah." Axel laughed.

"He won't tell me who she is." Roxas explained to Seifer.

"Do I know her?" Seifer wondered.

"She's in the band." Axel hated saying that he was in love with some non-existent girl.

"So I know her, then." Seifer was deep in thought.

"I'd say you know her." Axel was still smiling.

"But he hates the girls in the band." Roxas said, his voice confused.

"Maybe he's lying." Seifer suggested.

"I'm not lying." Axel told them. "You all definitely know her."

"We'll find out eventually when he asks her out." Roxas said.

"I'm not asking her out, Roxas." Axel said, playfully punching the blond in the arm.

"And why not?" Seifer and Roxas demanded together.

"Because I don't think she likes me." Axel shook his head.

"Well, you won't know unless you ask her, Axel." Roxas said.

"Okay, if I think she likes me, I'll ask her out." Axel said, just so Seifer and Roxas would shut up about the whole thing. "But I don't think she's too interested in me right now."

"Well, I still think you should ask her." Seifer ran his fingers through his hair. "You never know what she'll say."

"So when are you guys rehearsing?" Roxas asked, changing the subject entirely.

"We have the field at four today." Seifer said. "What about you guys?"

"We usually get the field around seven." Axel said.

"But we won't be having rehearsal for a few days, won't we?" Roxas wondered. "They have to fix up the field."

"Sweet!" Axel was obviously happy about this decision. "Cid can't yell at us about skipping!"

"Axel, it's not really skipping if there's no rehearsal anyway." Seifer told the redhead.

"Don't tell me that." Axel looked mortified. "Let me have this moment."

"Whatever you say." Roxas rolled his eyes, though he was laughing.

"You've gotten a lot crazier since I've left, huh, Axel?" Seifer smiled.

"Just a bit, yeah." Axel said.

"Well, how about we hang out after your rehearsal ends?" Seifer offered. "I kind of need to get back with these morons." He added as he pointed over his shoulder to the kids from Hollow Bastion.

"Sounds good with me." Roxas nodded in agreement. "We're in cabin six, so you can just meet us there."

"I'll meet you guys at the field or the cabin." Seifer said. "It might be easier to meet you at the cabin, depending on how Yumi and Tetsu are acting."

"Who are they?" Axel frowned.

"My cabin-mates." Seifer rolled his eyes.

"More annoying than Tidus and Wakka?" Roxas asked.

"I think so." Seifer nodded.

"That's impossible, Seifer." Axel said.

"No, I think they really are." Seifer said. "Anyway, I'll see you guys later."

"Yeah, later." Axel said as he and Roxas allowed Seifer to return to the rest of his band.

* * *

The final notes of _Weapon Raid_ echoed throughout the practice field. Roxas stood attentively at his keyboard. Cloud was at the timpani, Yuffie and Axel at the snares. All was silent on the field until Cid spoke.

"How do you all think that was?"

"Not very good?" Reno's response sounded like a question.

"It would've been better if Rikku hadn't almost run into the colour guard." Larxene said, glaring at the flute player in question.

"Then you need to tell Leon and Lucrecia to watch where they're going!" Rikku snapped.

"They were." Kadaj said. "It was partially because Loz wasn't watching where _he_ was going."

"That's because Marluxia was going to run into me!" Loz yelled.

"Okay, okay." Cid somehow calmed everyone down. "What does this tell you?"

"That it sucks to the point of no return." Axel offered from the percussion platform, twirling his drumstick between his fingers.

"Exactly." Cid said. "How did this get worse over the course of a few weeks?"

"More like a few months, Cid." Zack said, drumming his fingers on the neck of his guitar.

"Well, however long it was, it's gotten worse." Cid said.

"Why does it matter?" Vexen wondered. "We already know which ones we're going to play."

"Because a song shouldn't get _worse_ the more it's played, Vexen." Cid said. "Okay, that's it for tonight."

"Seriously?" Demyx asked, leaning against the blue sitar.

"Yep." Cid said. "Don't forget that rehearsals start again on Friday."

"That long?" Zexion frowned as the teens started to disperse.

"They need to fix the field, Zexy." Cloud said.

"It's not an electronic device, Cloud." Lucrecia said to the spiky haired blonde.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Sora wondered.

"Cloud made it seem like the field was something that can be easily replaced." Leon explained to a confused Sora.

"Oh." Sora said.

"Well, we should be playing again next Friday, so we get a few days off." Axel was obviously happy. "I'm not going to complain about that."

"Is that it, Cid?" Xion and Yuna asked together.

"That's it, people." Cid said. "I'll remind everyone when it's closer to Friday."

"He'll start reminding us tomorrow." Riku said as he started to put his oboe away.

"Typical Cid." Axel rolled his eyes.

"I'm just glad we don't have Sephiroth for an instructor." Yuffie shuddered at the thought. "Can you imagine how boring that would be?"

"Hayner says they can't figure out why we like Cid." Roxas said, helping Cloud move the timpanis.

"Because he's more upbeat than Sephiroth." Zack said, jumping on the platform to help Axel move the amps. "What more of a reason do we need?"

"Who knows?" Roxas shrugged. "I personally think the show choir is insane."

"You think you're ex-boyfriend is crazy?" Yuffie looked sceptically at Roxas.

"Well, yeah." Roxas laughed.

"This is Hayner we're talking about." Riku jumped into the conversation as he moved the wind-chimes across the platform.

"Riku, why are you even in the conversation?" Yuffie wondered.

"Because I am." Riku grinned.

"Let's get this over with." Roxas said. "I want to play some video games."

"Like?" Axel said.

"_Yoshi's Island_ maybe." Roxas shrugged before he moved the bass drum over to Cloud.

"That's so easy, Roxas!" Zack lifted his amplifier and walking across the platform.

"I didn't say it wasn't, Zack." Roxas said. "I already beat it."

"Then why play it again?" Yuffie asked as she moved the glockenspiel.

"Because I'm bored." Roxas shrugged.

"Don't forget Seifer's coming later." Axel said.

"Seifer?!" everyone on the platform save for Roxas and Axel asked.

"When did you see Seifer?" Riku wondered.

"He was in the Mess Hall this afternoon." Roxas said. "He's with the band from Hollow Bastion."

"One of our best drummers in our rival band." Zack groaned. "This won't end well."

"Maybe we can convince him to come back to Twilight High." Yuffie suggested.

"Yuffie, he moved." Cloud told the energetic drummer.

"Oh." Yuffie said in tones of defeat.

"Where are you meeting him?" Riku asked.

"Right here."

Everyone looked down to the bottom of the platform and saw Seifer staring up at them.

"When did you get here, Seifer?" Axel demanded.

"And why didn't you tell us you were coming here?" Cloud asked.

"I didn't think you guys would be coming." Seifer jumped onto the platform. "So how's everyone been?"

"Pretty good." Zack said, latching onto Cloud.

"Is Hollow Bastion dreadful?" Riku wondered.

"You have no idea." Seifer sighed. "I wish I was back in Twilight Town so much."

"Convince your dad to let you move back." Axel suggested, wrapping his arm around Roxas' shoulder almost protectively.

"Not a chance of that." Seifer shook his head. "But I think we're moving to Traverse Town next, so at least I'll be a little closer to you guys."

"You're moving again?" Yuffie jumped off the platform. "That must suck."

"I'm getting used to it." Seifer shrugged.

"Cloud, I'm going to go find Lexaeus and Luxord and see if they're up for some blackjack." Zack said, dragging his boyfriend behind him.

"So why do I have to go?" Cloud could be heard protesting as he was carted off by the guitarist.

"I hate to leave you guys hanging, but I'm going to spend some time with Sora." Riku said, following Cloud and Zack.

"I'm going to play Battleships with Aeris." Yuffie grinned, sprinting off the platform.

"So what are we going to do now?" Seifer asked Axel and Roxas, who were the only two remaining on the platform.

At that minute, Roxas' cell phone rang. Checking the phone, Roxas said, "Hayner just texted me."

"Does he know Seifer's back?" Axel asked, his arm still around the blonde.

"Probably not." Seifer shook his head.

"He wants me to meet him at our cabin." Roxas said.

"Which is where we're heading anyway." Axel said, leading the two down the black platform.

"How is ol' Hayner?" Seifer asked. "He seemed kinda strange when I left."

"He's better." Roxas said.

"You didn't tell Seifer that Hayner wanted to go back out with you." Axel said.

"He did?" Seifer frowned, clearly surprised. "Hayner really isn't one to ask someone back out, is he?"

"No, which is why this is so weird." Roxas said.

"Well, what did you say?" Seifer wondered.

"No." Roxas said.

"What the hell, Roxas?!" Seifer slapped Roxas upside the head.

"Well, I like this other guy!" Roxas rubbed the back of his head, glaring at Seifer.

"You do?" Seifer frowned.

"Didn't I tell you that this afternoon?" Roxas asked.

"I would definitely remember that." Seifer said.

"Still gossiping, eh, Seifer?" Axel grinned, ignoring a loud group of teens from the Land of Dragons.

"What can I say?" Seifer shrugged before turning to Roxas. "So who is he?"

"It doesn't matter." Roxas said. "He's straight. He won't go out with me."

"But you should still tell him." Axel said. "Just so he knows."

"Do you know how weird that would be?" Roxas asked. "Besides, I'm finally starting to get along with him. I don't want to ruin that." He hesitated for a second before saying, "This is as close as I can get to actually going out with him."

"This is really bothering you, isn't it, Roxas?" Axel could clearly tell that Roxas was more than a little upset.

"No kidding?" Roxas said, still looking depressed.

"You can probably find someone better than him, Roxas." Seifer told the blonde. "There are plenty of guys out there."

"I guess that's true." Roxas said, but he didn't seem convinced.

When they reached the cabin, they found Hayner sitting on the steps, clearly waiting for the other teens.

"Why didn't you tell me you were bringing Seifer?" Hayner demanded, punching Roxas in the arm. He then faced Seifer and asked, "Why didn't you tell us you were coming?"

"I didn't think you guys would be here." Seifer replied. "And it's great to see you, too, Hayner."

"So what are we going to do?" Axel wondered.

"What's going on?"

Was there ever a time without Demyx? It certainly didn't seem like it. The sitarist bounded across the grass and ploughed right into Seifer.

"I see a lot of people have missed me." Seifer said. "What's up, Demyx?"

"Have you been here this whole time?!" Demyx glared at the blonde.

"Apparently so." Roxas said.

"So what are we going to do?" Hayner wondered.

"Look!" Demyx pointed somewhere in the grass. "Fireflies!"

The teens didn't see the fireflies for a few minutes. After straining their eyes for a while, they eventually saw the first firefly. Pretty soon, hundreds of fireflies were in the air, flying all around the trees and flowers.

"Let's go catch some!" Demyx exclaimed, running over to the fireflies.

"Sounds good to me." Hayner said.

"I'll get my soda bottle." Roxas said. "We can keep them in there."

"Okay." Seifer said. "I'll make sure Demyx doesn't go insane."

Roxas nodded and walked into the cabin. Noticing something strange, Axel followed him inside. Roxas was going through his duffel bag to find the soda bottle in question, but Axel thought he was stalling for time.

"You okay, Roxas?" Axel asked.

"I'm fine, Axel." Roxas nodded.

"You're sure?" Axel wasn't convinced.

"Why?" Roxas asked.

"You don't seem okay to me." Axel said, pulling the blonde down to the bed. "What's up?"

"It's nothing." Roxas said. "I guess I'm just depressed."

"About him?" it didn't take Axel long to figure that out. "Why can't you tell him?"

"You know how embarrassing that would be, Axel?" Roxas looked into Axel's eyes. "It would be horrible."  
"Do you want to talk about it?" Axel offered, since Roxas clearly needed to get it off his chest.

"No, I'll be okay." Roxas said. "It's just that this is the first time I've fallen for a straight guy and I hate it."

"It must be tough." Axel nodded slowly.

"I'll get over it." Roxas said. "I hate falling for someone I can't go out with."

"If it's any consolation, Roxas, I'm kind of going through the same thing." Axel said. "But I clearly don't have it as badly as you do."

"I'll be okay, Axel." Roxas said, resting his head on the redhead's shoulder. "I just need to keep telling myself that he's out of bounds."

"Well, not really." Axel said. "You can always ask him, but he's going to say no."

"So he's inaccessible." Roxas sighed. "Even better. Just what I need."

"Well, I'll listen if you ever need to talk, Roxas." Axel said.

"I think I'll be fine." Roxas said.

At that minute, Hayner came in and said, "How long does it take to find a soda bottle, Roxas?"

"I'm coming." Roxas said as Hayner left.

Axel faced Roxas one more time and said, "You're sure you're okay?"

"Yeah." Roxas nodded. "I'll deal with this."

"Okay." Axel said.

They joined Seifer, Demyx and Hayner a few seconds later. Demyx was chasing fireflies in circles, looking very comical indeed. Hayner seemed to be acting very strangely around Seifer, which was definitely interesting.

Axel wasn't really paying attention to the fireflies. He was thinking about something Roxas had said. According to Roxas, he was just now getting along the guy he'd fallen for. But Roxas had only been fighting with Axel until recently. What was going on?

**Seifer's back! I don't really know anything about him, so I guess I'll have to watch the cutscenes. And I just wanted to squeeze Roxas at the end...I just watched the trailer for 358/2 Days and it looks AMAZING!!! I can't wait! *squeal* so yeah...I hope this is going to be interesting. Reviews equal love!**

**next chapter: reno demands a soccer game**


	15. Girls and Boys

**Disclaimer: Really. Can't get the hint by now?**

**Hallo! It's Xero! I wrote most of this chapter on my new laptop, which has 2007 WORD installed. My old laptop had the '97 version of WORD installed and there are some obvious differences. I'm trying to get it straightened out. And This is going to have Axel fans everywhere happy. It's obvious at the end. ^_^ on with the deadly tale!**

The morning of the ninth day marked a period of rest and relaxation for everyone. There would be no rehearsals for several days, which would allow everyone to catch up on some much needed sleep. Vexen was certainly using this time to his advantage and was often seen sleeping at would-be social functions like a kickball game between Agrabah and the Land of Dragons.

Roxas awoke to find cabin six empty. Vincent had taken his German textbook, which meant that he was probably doing homework with Lucrecia. Cloud was right, really. Vincent did focus on his homework more than was humanly possible.

Sitting up, Roxas saw that the sun was completely up; its rays shining down on everything in the camp. Roxas frowned and upon checking his cell phone, learned that it was almost eleven o'clock.

Huh. That was strange. But for some reason, he didn't really mind that it was almost noon. Maybe Axel was rubbing off on him, since the blonde was around the drummer a lot as of late.

After getting dressed, Roxas turned on his laptop and started to edit his essay for AP Lit. He'd already edited it several times, but once more couldn't hurt, right?

As he was editing, Roxas' cerulean eyes scanned the room, giving his mind a break from the editing process. More than once Roxas found his eyes on Sadie, Axel's guitar. Roxas' mind trailed back to when the redhead taught him how to play the guitar part for _Forever_. And Roxas wanted to finish the song, more than Axel knew.

Getting off the bed, Roxas crossed the room and gently picked up Sadie and sat down on Axel's bed. He was going to finish the song, no matter how long it took him to do so.

It took him a while to remember the chords to play, but Roxas finally could play the song from memory. It helped that he'd heard the song probably thousands of times before, too.

Roxas worked on the song for about half an hour until Axel walked back into the room, his drumsticks in hand. His eyes travelled from Roxas to the electric guitar in the blonde's hands.

"Why do you have Sadie?" Axel frowned, his voice showing confusion rather than anger.

"I got a sudden urge to play the end of _Forever_." Roxas admitted, grinning sheepishly. "Do you mind if I use her?"

"No, I don't care." Axel shook his head.

"You're sure?" Roxas questioned, holding the guitar gently in his lap, knowing Axel would probably kill him for wrecking his guitar.

"It's fine with me." Axel nodded, sitting on the bed next to Roxas.

"Where were you?" Roxas asked.

"Playing basketball with Kadaj." Axel replied, running his fingers through the wild crimson spikes.

"And you needed your drumsticks because…?" Roxas pointed to the drumsticks with his chin.

"I dunno, actually." Axel shrugged.

"Who won?" Roxas asked. "You or Kadaj?"

"Kadaj." Axel scowled.

"Go figure. He used to play basketball as a kid, didn't he?" Roxas questioned.

"No, that was Loz." Axel shook his head.

"Oh." Roxas said simply.

"Did you just wake up?" Axel asked, lying down on the bed so that he was sprawled across the shorter end.

"A few minutes ago." Roxas answered.

"Taking a leaf from my book, huh?" Axel laughed.

"Yeah, I guess so." Roxas said.

"Are you doing okay today?" Axel asked, his voice completely serious.

"I guess." Roxas nodded.

"You're positive?" Axel asked, making sure that Roxas wasn't lying to him.

"I think I'm in the process of denying the fact that I'll ever go out with him." Roxas said.

"That sucks." Axel said sympathetically.

"I feel better than I did yesterday, but I still feel really bad about it." Roxas said.

"Roxas, you'll find a better guy for you." Axel said, wrapping his arm around the blonde's shoulder.

"That's what everyone tells me." Roxas said.

"And it's true." Axel nodded.

"But what if I don't think I'll ever find anyone else?" Axel could tell that Roxas was being serious. He could hear the fear and sadness in the blonde's voice.

"When you broke up with Hayner, did you feel like you'd never find another guy again?" Axel asked.

"Not really." Roxas said. "I wasn't really thinking of dating another guy until I fell in love with him."

"Him meaning the guy you like." Axel assumed.

"Who else would I be talking about?" Roxas narrowed his eyebrows. "You're brother?"

"Well, I wouldn't really care if you'd fallen for Reno, but I know that you haven't." Axel said.

"And how do you know that?" Roxas asked.

"You don't act differently around him." Axel replied. "Most people act differently around the people they like."

"I don't see you acting strangely around any of the girls." Roxas said, a trace of annoyance in his voice. "I still think you're lying."

"I'm not lying." Axel said. "Maybe you're not paying attention?"

"No, I'd definitely notice" Roxas shook his head. "It would be painfully obvious."

"Maybe not." Axel shrugged.

"I can tell when you're flirting with people, Axel." Roxas said, releasing himself from the drummer's death grip. "You were kinda flirty with Larxene the other day."

"That's because we used to go out." Axel said, leaning against the blonde. "I'm allowed to flirt with her."

"And I'd say you're getting flirty with me now." Roxas said, looking into Axel's peridot eyes.

"I'm not into guys, Roxie." Axel said, though he knew this was a downright lie.

"I know, I know." Roxas said.

"And Kadaj used to flirt with guys back when he was straight." Axel pointed out. "And Leon still does."

"After Aeris dumped his sorry arse." Roxas added. "I still can't see why she went out with him in the first place."

"That's like Kairi asking out Elena." Axel shuddered.

"Elena?" Roxas frowned, making him look absolutely adorable in Axel's opinion.

"She's going out with Tseng." Axel explained. "She's in the acting class back in Twilight Town, remember?"

"Oh, that's right." Roxas nodded. "She's the one who had a thing for Xigbar?"

"Yep." Axel nodded.

"That's gross." Roxas shuddered. "Why would anyone go out with Xigbar?"

"I heard Saix asked him out the other day." Axel said.

Roxas simply stared at Axel for a minute before saying, "You'd better be kidding me, Axel."

"I'm as serious as a heart attack." Axel said.

At that moment, Zack and Marluxia came into the cabin, Marluxia looking rather annoyed. Zack had a soccer ball in his hand and Marluxia was carrying two florescent yellow flags.

"What's going on?" Axel and Roxas asked together.

"You two up for a soccer game against Wonderland?" Zack asked eagerly.

"I'm game." Roxas nodded, pulling Axel off the bed. He faced the pink-haired teen and said, "Why are you here, Marluxia?"

"Cloud nominated me as the ref." Marluxia wasn't happy about this.

"But you know nothing about soccer." Axel pointed out as the teens walked out of the cabin and down to the soccer field.

"That's what I kept telling him." Marluxia said. He looked at Zack and said, "Your boyfriend's a bit weird, you know?"

"Oh, he's always like that." Zack said. "Once he gets going, there's no way to stop him. Like that time we almost had sex in front of Pac Sun."

"Don't want the details." Axel and Marluxia chorused.

"Okay, okay." Zack said in mock surrender. "Give a guy a break, huh?"

When they reached the soccer field, the teens found a group of people crowding the goalposts, the apparent meeting place for the soccer game. Riku and Sora were passing Kairi's soccer ball between them, but everyone else looked bored.

"I thought that this game was against Wonderland?"Roxas frowned.

"It was." Zack said before yelling to everyone else. "Where're the kids from Wonderland?"

"They got tired of waiting." Rikku said. "It's going to be just our school."

"Against who?" Axel frowned, his arm draped protectively around Roxas' shoulder.

"The marching band versus the colour guard and show choir." Hayner said, eyeing his ex-boyfriend suspiciously.

"Am I still ref?" Marluxia asked.

"Everyone else who plays soccer is playing in the game." Yuna said, poking Tidus in the arm. "Even you, Tidus."

"Whatever." Tidus scowled.

"I call captain for marching band!" Zack exclaimed.

It took a few minutes for everyone to decide who was going to be the captain for the other team. It was eventually decided that it would be Hayner, since the blonde knew the most about soccer in the group.

Then the game began. The line up was fairly simple: goalies were going to be Sora for the marching band and Wakka for the colour choir, as it was aptly named. Strikers and wings would be Zack, Kadaj and Roxas for the band and Larxene, Hayner and Kairi for colour choir. Defenders for the colour choir were Tidus and Yuna whilst Axel and Demyx were defenders for the marching band. Marluxia remained the ref for the game whilst everyone else stayed as spectators.

Larxene took the ball first and sprinted up the field, only to be stopped by Demyx. The sitarist punted the ball halfway down the field, causing Zack to dash after it and take it up to Wakka's end of the field. After shooting on goal, Wakka caught it and sent it hurling down the field to Kairi and Hayner. Kairi stopped it with her feet and dribbled it down the field only to be stopped by Roxas, who sent the ball back to Zack. Zack passed it back to Axel so the redhead could send it to the open Kadaj, who sprinted down the field and shot on the goal. Wakka lunged for it, but missed by a few feet, resulting in the ball sailing into the net.

"Yes!" Kadaj yelled as everyone sprinted back to their positions.

"One for the marching band. Score is 1-0." Marluxia said.

The colour choir got the ball first this time, so Larxene passed left to Hayner, who sent the ball back for Yuna to send it flying down the field. It landed over in between Axel and Demyx, so Axel dashed over to the ball and sent it to Roxas, who took it up the field and shot on goal. Wakka jumped high enough to catch it before he threw it back into the field. Kadaj was close enough to stop it with his feet and shoot again. Wakka stopped it again and sent it down the field. Roxas bolted after it and dribbled it a few times on his knees to gain control before taking off up the field and scoring on the goal.

"Nice shot, Roxas!" Sora yelled from the goal.

"Stop going so fast, huh?" Hayner complained.

"That's soccer, babe." Roxas grinned as he ran back to his spot next to Zack.

This process occurred several times, both with the colour choir and marching band scoring. The game was eventually ended in a tie at the end of two halves.

"What was the point of playing if we were going to tie?" Larxene protested at the end of the game.

"But we didn't know it was going to tie, Larxene." Axel said, wrapping his arm around her waist.

"I don't like things ending in a tie, Axel." Larxene told him.

"I know that." Axel nodded. When they reached Roxas, he said, "Nice scoring."

"Thanks." Roxas was breathing heavily, having sprinted up the soccer field multiple times in an hour. "Kadaj did very well, too."

"Wakka's good at gaoling, you know." Axel told his ex-girlfriend.

"He helps Zack practice during the in-season." Larxene said, brushing her hair from her emerald eyes.

"I guess that would explain it." Axel said.

"I'm gonna grab a shower, Axel." Roxas said when they reached their cabin a few minutes later.

"Why are you telling me?" Axel frowned. "You want me to join you?"

_That_ certainly did it. Roxas flushed bright scarlet and said, "N-no!"

"No need to freak out, Roxas." Axel picked up Sadie and started to play _Cryin'_. "I'm not into that."

"I-I know." Roxas stuttered.

"So stop stammering, Roxie!" Axel gripped Roxas by his shoulders and shook him quite violently.

"Then stop shaking me!" Roxas shouted.

"What's going on in here?" Cid demanded, storming quite suddenly into the cabin. "Please tell me you two aren't fighting again."

"I just told Axel that I was going to shower and he asked if he wanted me to join him." Roxas explained. "Then I said no and he started shaking me."

"Axel, since when are you gay?" Cid faced the drummer, who was playing his guitar again.

"I'm not gay, sir." Axel said. "I was just messing around with him."

"No rehearsal today, right, Cid?" Roxas asked, grabbing a new shirt and jeans.

"That's right." Cid nodded. "Though Sephiroth wants me to meet the band director from the Land of Dragons."

"Why's that?" Roxas asked.

"He won't tell me." Cid shrugged. "I don't want to hear you guys yelling, okay? We all like the quiet."

"Yes, sir." Axel said as Cid left the cabin.

"See what you did, Axel?" Roxas punched the redhead in the shoulder. "You made Cid show up!"

"You were the one being loud, Roxas." Axel grinned.

"Well, I'm going now." Roxas said, leaving the cabin as well.

Axel remained where he sat on his bed. Why would Roxas freak out so much about showering with him? Roxas was gay; everyone knew that. He probably wouldn't react like that if Hayner wanted to shower with him, but Roxas went absolutely ballistic.

Then again, Roxas usually seemed different around Axel than he was around everyone else, even Hayner. It was almost like how he used to act around Hayner, or how Axel would act around Larxene.

No...no way.

Could Roxas have fallen for Axel?

Axel's peridot eyes widened as this thought crossed his mind, his fingers frozen on Sadie's strings. Roxas couldn't possibly like him, could he? They fought _constantly_. But Roxas said he was just starting to get along with the guy he had fallen for. Axel was the only one Roxas had fought with recently.

"Well, I guess that would make sense." Axel said to himself. "He's always acted strangely around me. And that would certainly explain why he freaked out about showering with me."

Was Axel imagining things? Did Roxas really have a crush on him? Axel thought he'd done a good job about keeping his gayness hidden from everyone else. Not even Reno had any idea. If Roxas knew that Axel was gay, the blonde would probably have asked him out.

But Roxas thought that Axel was straight! No wonder why he was so upset the day before. Anyone would be depressed if they'd fallen for a straight guy.

Axel propped Sadie up against the wall, climbing back on his bed. If Roxas really did like him, he'd have to do something about that.

**Well, it's about TIME, Axel! What's he going to do? You'll have to wait and find out. *grins* reviews equal love!**

**next chapter: gaming galore**


	16. Vampires Will Never Hurt You

**Disclaimer: Really. Get it yet?**

**Hallo! It's Xero! Sorry this is so late. I was really unmotivated to write this. I hope it's okay! Oh, and there'll be spoilers for the end of Cirque du Freak if anyone reads that series. Anyhow, on with the deadly tale!**

Axel was sitting on his bed when Roxas walked back in the cabin, his blonde hair a shade darker from the recent shower. The redhead had to force himself not to stare at the blonde too long. As tempting as it was, Axel had to make sure that he didn't blow his cover.

"So what now?" Roxas asked, flopping down on his bed.

"We could always talk." Axel shrugged. "Hasn't become too over-rated yet."

"And I assume that's a good thing?" Roxas smiled, causing the butterflies to erupt in Axel's stomach.

"Yep." Axel nodded.

"But what are we going to talk about?" Roxas asked.

"Um...the weather?" Axel grabbed Sadie and started to play _Passion's Killing Floor._

"What are we, old men?" Roxas laughed, pulling out his DS.

"Not yet." Axel shook his head.

"I really don't want to get old." Roxas shrugged, brushing his hair from his cerulean eyes.

"Really?" Axel frowned, his fingers frozen on Sadie's strings. "Why not?"

"I don't want to get old and crusty looking." Roxas laughed as he said.

"You want to die young." Axel nodded.

"Like in my forties." Roxas explained.

"That's not really young, though." Axel raised an eyebrow as he started to play _The Flood_.

"I dunno." Roxas shrugged again. "I just don't want to die after fifty."

"Let's pick a cheerier topic." Axel suggested.

"Like when you're going to ask this girl out?" Roxas smiled.

"I'm _not_ asking her out, Roxas." Even though he was almost sure that Roxas was crushing on him, he still didn't want the blonde to know that Axel wasn't exactly telling the truth.

"Why not, Axel?" Roxas wondered. "At least you can ask her out."

"You can ask him out, too." Axel switched songs to _Augen Auf. _

"Yeah, but he'll say no." Roxas said sadly.

"Roxas, I still think telling him the truth would be the best thing to do." Axel said. "Then he'd know everything and it would be less awkward between the two of you."

"It isn't really awkward around us." Roxas replied.

"And is that a good thing?" Axel asked.

"What do _you_ think?" Roxas switched out _Metroid: Zero Mission _for _The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap_.

"I would imagine it would be a good thing." Axel switched to _Eva_.

"I like that song." Roxas noted song Axel was playing.

"You like Nightwish?" Axel frowned.

"Ever since I heard _Tenth Man Down_." Roxas nodded.

"That's a good one." Axel agreed.

A series of quickening footsteps could be heard and it wasn't long before Hayner and Seifer made their usual loud entrance. Seifer was holding a copy of _Cirque du Freak: Sons of Destiny _and Hayner was looking rather annoyed by something.

"What's up?" Axel wasn't surprised by the sudden intrusion.

"Hayner thinks werewolves are better than vampires." Seifer glared at the other blonde.

"I never said that." Hayner shot back. "I just said that I like them better. I never mentioned anything about one being better than the other."

"Oh." Seifer said simply.

"You brought an argument into our cabin just to have it ended like that?" Axel raised an eyebrow.

"Reading _Cirque du Freak_ again?" Roxas asked Seifer, who had taken refuge on Cloud's bed.

"I made Rai read it." Seifer said with a shrug. "Then I kinda got back into it."

"I was miserable when Mr. Crepsley died." Roxas said sadly.

"Mr. Crepsley dies?!" Axel gaped at the blonde, obviously astounded by this new information.

"Didn't you finish the series, Axel?" Hayner asked the drummer.

"I had to stop after book six because school started last year." Axel was still shocked. "How does he die?"

"He falls into a pit of stakes." Roxas replied.

"Are you serious?" Axel looked even more shocked.

"As a heart attack." Hayner nodded solemnly.

"Well, that completely ruins the whole series for me." Axel said, setting his abandoned guitar against the wall and leaning back against the headboard of his bed.

"Do you want to know how the whole thing ends?" Seifer asked.

"Might as well." Axel shrugged.

"Well, it turns out that Darren and Steve are both Mr. Tiny's sons." Roxas started off. "Which makes them Lady Evanna's half-brothers."

"Oh, that's just creepy." Axel shuddered.

"Isn't it, though?" Seifer nodded.

"So Darren becomes a Little Person so he can go back in time and prevent the whole series from happening." Hayner concluded.

"Oh, and Annie found out that her brother is a vampire." Roxas added. "And Darren has a nephew named Darius."

"Is he a vampire?" Axel wondered.

"No, but he's half Vampaneze." Seifer explained.

"Wha?" The look on Axel's face was priceless.

"Darius is Steve's son." Roxas informed the drummer.

"He's _what_ now?!" Axel's peridot eyes widened in alarm.

"Steve and Annie shacked up and had a kid." Seifer said, not sugar-coating anything, as usual.

"Good God, that's weird." Axel shook his head. "So that's it?"

"Everything of importance." Hayner said.

"So shall we start the on-going debate?" Seifer suggested.

"What debate?" Axel and Roxas questioned together.

"Vampires versus werewolves." Seifer grinned manically.

"No." The other three chorused.

"I've just finished this debate with you, Seifer." Hayner said, joining Seifer on Cloud's bed.

"So what are we going to talk about?" Seifer asked.

"Are they finished with the lake yet?" Roxas asked out of the blue.

The field where the band camp was being held had a lake where the teens could go swimming. It had been inaccessible for the first few days of the camp and everyone was anxious to use it.

"I think so." Seifer nodded.

"Sweet." Axel grinned deviously. "I'd love to see Roxas shirtless."

"H-hey!" Roxas protested.

"He looks quite nice." Hayner smiled. "I certainly saw a lot of him."

"You guys make it seem like I'm a slut or something." Roxas said, glaring the drummer and his former boyfriend.

"You're cute enough to be one, honey." Hayner said, with a quick glance at Seifer, as if he was afraid that he would upset the Hollow Bastion drummer.

"What's up, Hayner?" Axel noticed Hayner's strange behaviour.

"I-it's nothing." Hayner said, though his face was telling a different story.

"Oh?" Roxas raised an eyebrow. "Then why is your face the colour of Axel's hair?"

"My hair is _red_, not pink, Roxie." Axel said, throwing his pillow at the keyboardist.

"I was kidding, Axel." Roxas threw the pillow back.

"Are we going swimming or what?" Seifer asked, bringing the group back on topic.

"I know I want to." Axel immediately started to rummage through his luggage and found his swim trunks. "So let's get going!"

"A bit energetic, huh?" Roxas laughed as he found his swim trunks as well.

"I'll go get my stuff." Hayner said. "Come on, Seifer."

And with that, Seifer and Hayner were gone, leaving Axel and Roxas alone in the cabin.

"What just happened?" Roxas asked as he followed Axel out of the cabin and into the boy's shower rooms so they could change.

"I dunno, but they're acting very strangely." Axel commented.

"No kidding?" Roxas rolled his eyes. When they came out of the changing rooms a few minutes later, he asked, "So what are we going to be doing?"

"Let's see..." Axel was clearly being sarcastic. "I was planning on playing some basketball before playing _Resident Evil IV_ and ending with a round of poker with Saix, Larxene and Kadaj."

"You'd play poker with your ex-girlfriend?" Roxas frowned.

"She likes to play." Axel shrugged. "What can I say?"

When they arrived at the lake, they found mostly teens from Hollow Bastion and Twilight Town. There were a few kids from Agrabah, Neverland and the Land of Dragons, but they, as always, kept to themselves.

"It's about time, Axel." Kadaj swam over to the edge before Axel cannon-balled into the lake. "I was wondering if you were coming."

"How could I miss this?" Axel said before looking to the blonde keyboardist and saying, "You coming, Roxas?"

"No, I was planning on sitting out the whole time." Roxas rolled his eyes before jumping in the lake.

"Knowing you…" Axel trailed off, shaking the hair from his eyes like a wet dog.

"Wanna play water polo?" Kadaj asked.

"I'm in the mood for splashing Roxas." Axel said, grinning at the blonde.

"Oh, no you don't." Roxas held his breath and stayed under water for what felt like an eternity only to be splashed when he resurfaced.

"Axel…" Roxas glared at the blonde.

"Okay, okay." Axel said, though he couldn't stop his eyes from journeying to Roxas every now and then.

"I didn't think you guys would be here." Sora and Riku swam over to the group.

"Why wouldn't we?" Kadaj frowned.

"I can't see Axel swimming in a lake." Riku said, flipping over so that he was now floating on his back. "And I'd never imagine Kadaj in anything besides that black hoodie."

"I wear other stuff too, you know, Riku." Kadaj told the other silver-haired teen.

"Come on." Axel grabbed Roxas by the hand and pulled him away from the bickering teens.

"What are we doing?" Roxas asked when they stopped a few feet away from everyone else.

"Spending some alone time." Axel replied.

"You make it seem like we're going out, Axel." Roxas laughed.

"But we're not." Axel said, feeling a bit sad because he realized that he _did _want to go out with Roxas.

"So what are we going to do?" Roxas said before diving underwater so he could do a handstand.

"Marco Polo?" Axel suggested.

"That isn't really fun unless you get at least twenty people in on it." Roxas shook his head.

"Where have you played Marco Polo with at least twenty people?" Axel raised an eyebrow.

"Sora, Riku and I went to our family reunion last summer." Roxas nodded.

"But Riku isn't part of your family." Axel pointed out.

"Sora figured that it would be a good time to introduce Riku as his boyfriend." Roxas explained. "And I know Sora is hoping that Riku _will_ be part of our family someday."

"Hey, it's working for them now." Axel nodded, floating on his back, but still looking at the blonde. "How long have they been going out?"

"Since Freshman year, I think." Roxas said.

"And we're Seniors now…" Axel said. "That's a really long time. Have they broken up any in that time?"

"Nope." Roxas shook his head. He dove underwater and spun around a few times before coming up and saying, "They've had some big fights, but they think that they've become closer because of them."

"Maybe Larxene and I should've had some major fights then." Axel laughed. "Maybe we'd still be together."

"From what you say about it, I don't think that would've kept the two of you together." Roxas said, shaking his hair from his eyes.

"Yeah, I think our relationship was doomed from the start." Axel nodded.

"You'll find someone, Axel." Roxas said.

"Why is it that you can say that to me, but I can't say it to you?" Axel wanted to know.

"Because you're straight and I'm not." Roxas said.

"Roxas!"

Axel and Roxas looked over to the other edge of the pool and saw Kadaj yelling for the blonde.

"What, Kadaj?" Axel yelled back.

"I need to talk to Roxas." Kadaj said.

"Okay." Axel hollered in response. He turned back to Roxas and said, "I'll see you in the cabin."

"Where are you going?" Roxas wondered.

"Shower." Axel replied. "Wanna come with?"

"N-no." Roxas shook his head, though his face was beet-red.

"Okay." Axel laughed. "Later, Roxie."

Roxas swam over to Kadaj whilst Axel got out of the lake and headed over to the showers. Kadaj pulled Roxas out of the water and the two started to walk in the direction of the practice field.

"So what's up, Kadaj?" Roxas asked.

"Why are you and Axel getting along so well so suddenly?" Kadaj asked, running his fingers through the silver hair.

"Axel thought it was a good idea to get along." Roxas said. "Why?"

"I'm just wondering…" Kadaj trailed off.

"Kadaj, what's going on?" Roxas grabbed Kadaj by the shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. "Everyone's been acting really weirdly around me and Axel and I want to know why."

"Have you seen the way he looks at you, Roxas?" Kadaj wondered.

"He's not looking at me any differently, if that's what you mean." Roxas said.

"You really can't see it?" Kadaj asked, clearly astounded.

"How does he look at me?" Roxas frowned.

"It's really weird. He looks like he's being protective, like he'd take a bullet for you." Kadaj said. "But at the same time, he looks like he looks like he's trying to avoid you. Well, he used to."

"Used to?" Roxas repeated.

"Since you guys have started to get along, he hasn't looked like that in a while." Kadaj said. "This new expression is different. It's like he wants to be more than friends, but he's holding himself back."

"But Axel's straight." Roxas said. "There's no way he'd want me for a boyfriend."

"I'm just saying what I see." Kadaj said quickly. "I don't think Axel would fall for another guy, but it looks like he might be falling for you."

"But that can't happen." Roxas shook his head. "Axel's into girls, not guys."

"I know, I know." Kadaj said. "If you want the details, you're going to have to talk to him about it."

"That would be extremely awkward to talk about." Roxas said.

"You're gay, aren't you?" Kadaj frowned. "Why would it be awkward?"

"It would just be an awkward discussion to have with a straight guy." Roxas said. "Anyway, I'll see you later, Kadaj."

"See ya, Roxas." Kadaj said as he went back to his cabin.

Roxas arrived at cabin six a few minutes later. Flopping down on his bed, Roxas thought of his conversation with Kadaj. Had Kadaj always been that observant or was it because Axel was his best friend? In any case, Roxas now saw what everyone else was seeing. Axel _was _acting strangely, like he was hiding something. But what was it?

**Oh, Kadaj....This is getting good, no? Now that Kadaj is getting in the picture, things could heat up soon. And what's with Seifer and Hayner? I hope the next chapter will be good. reviews equal love!**

**next chapter: confrontation? or just another conversation?**


	17. Weißt du Wieviel Sterne Stehen?

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything mentioned. That goes for the songs too, people.**

**Hey, yo. It's Xero. I can't believe it's been a month since I've updated! *gasps* I got major writer's block over the summer, but now I have new ideas. Of course I'm in college now and don't always have the time to write. Go figure! And just so everyone knows, the chapter title is German for "Do you know how many stars are up there?" Anyway, on with the deadly tale!  
**

Dinner rolled around pretty quickly. Roxas decided to wait for Axel before heading down to the Mess Hall, which proved to be a lot longer than he originally expected. The redhead had stayed at the lake playing water polo with Reno, Vexen, Marluxia, Selphie and Xion, so he didn't get back until nearly 6:30.

"What took so long?" Roxas asked when the drummer finally returned to the cabin.

"Played water polo with some of the guys." Axel ran his fingers through his wild crimson spikes.

"Any fun?" Roxas asked, turning off his DS.

"Not really." Axel shook his head. "Marluxia and Vexen were making out most of the time, so that kinda got annoying after a while."

"I can imagine." Roxas said. "So are we going to eat or what?"

"Oh, yeah." Axel shook his head like a wet dog, sending water all over the place.

"Knock it off, Axel!" Roxas yelped, covering his face with his hands.

"Okay, okay." Axel rolled his eyes. "What's on the menu for today?"

"I have no idea, actually." Roxas shook his head.

"Hopefully nothing like Mystery Meat." Axel shuddered, pulling Roxas out of the cabin by the hand. "No good can come from that stuff."

"You're kinda flirty right now, Axel." Roxas said.

"How am I flirty, Roxas?" Axel stopped to look at the blonde, the peridot eyes confused.

"Well, you're holding my hand, for one thing." Roxas said, trying to stop his face from turning red.

"That's not really flirty, though." Axel said, instantly releasing Roxas' hand.

"Most people consider it flirty." Roxas said.

"But I'm not most people, Roxie." Axel said.

"Maybe you should be." Roxas told him, brushing his hair from his azure eyes.

"Why do you say that?" Axel asked.

"Don't people make fun of you for being different?" Roxas asked, his face still a light shade of magenta.

"Not really." Axel shrugged. "Since I sought refuge with the marching band, no one makes fun of me anymore."

"Wait, people did before you joined us?" Roxas was surprised by this new piece of information.

"Mostly about my hair." Axel said nonchalantly.

"I can't imagine why." Roxas' words dripped sarcasm.

"But things have been better since I joined freshman year." Axel said, ignoring a passing group of teens from Traverse Town. "Kadaj introduced me to a lot of people. And I already knew who you were."

"Apparently everyone knows who I am since I'm Sora's brother." Roxas didn't look happy about that.

"Why's that a bad thing?" Axel wondered.

"Because everyone assumes that I'm just like Sora." Roxas said.

"And you're not." Axel said. "I wouldn't have-"

Axel stopped midsentence, aware of what he'd been about to say. He wasn't about to tell Roxas _that _yet, if he was going to tell him that at all. He initially wasn't going to tell him anything, since the possibility that Roxas liked him was slim to none.

But things were different now. There was a possibility that Roxas liked him back. But could he take the risk and find out the truth?

Axel must've been lost in his thoughts for too long because Roxas was looking at the blonde with a very confused look.

"Wouldn't have what?" Roxas asked.

"Become friends with you if you were like Sora." Axel lied.

Well, it was partially true. There was no way that Axel could have someone like Sora as a best friend. Roxas was somewhat like his twin, but not in the extreme like Sora.

"What were you thinking about just now?" Roxas had probably figured out that there was something on Axel's mind.

"Her." Axel said.

"When will you tell her, Axel?" Roxas sighed. "It's obvious that you want to go out with her."

"I'm thinking about it." Axel said.

Roxas looked at the drummer in surprise and said, "Are you serious?"

"I just don't know when to do it." Axel said. "What about you? How's it going with your mystery guy?"

"I know who he is, Axel." Roxas said as they reached the Mess Hall.

"So?" Axel prompted. "Anything new about him?"

"Kadaj told me a few things yesterday that I found surprising." Roxas said.

"And they were?" Axel asked.

Roxas paused, not knowing if he should tell Axel. Would he find out that Kadaj had been talking about him?

"Kadaj said that the guy I like might not be straight after all." Roxas said hesitantly.

"Like complete gay or just bi?" Axel asked.

"Probably bi, from the way Kadaj put it." Roxas said.

"And that's a good thing, isn't it?" Axel said as he and Roxas got their dinner and made their way over to an empty table.

"Well, if he really is bi, then there's a chance that he'll like me back, but I don't think that'll happen." Roxas said.

"Why's that?" Axel wondered.

"I'm not really that good looking." Roxas said, cutting his chicken into pieces.

"Yeah, you are." Axel popped the tab on his 7-Up. "I don't see why you don't have a boyfriend right now."

"Maybe that's because people know I like this other guy." Roxas suggested.

"I guess that might be it." Axel said.

"So what are we going to do after-" Roxas started to say.

"Roxas, look at Hayner and Seifer." Axel pointed off somewhere in the cabin.

Roxas looked in the direction where Axel was pointing and saw that Seifer and Hayner were sitting together. But it looked like they were having more than the casual dinner. Hayner looked fidgety and Seifer looked more antsy than usual.

"What do you think is up with them?" Roxas asked.

"No idea." Axel said, drinking some of his soda. "I just think it's weird. Hayner wasn't like this when you were going out with him, was he?"

"Not usually." Roxas shook his head. "Why, do you think Hayner has a thing for Seifer?"

"Well, what else could it be?" Axel shrugged, eating some of his hamburger. "But I thought Hayner was still lusting over you, Roxas?"

"I thought he still had a thing for me, too." Roxas said.

"Who does?"

Axel and Roxas were joined by a certain hyperactive sitarist and his silver-haired boyfriend.

"What do you want, Demyx?" Roxas asked.

"Who's lusting over Roxas?" Zexion wondered.

"Hayner was." Axel replied. "But he's not acting like that anymore."

"Maybe he's found someone else." Demyx suggested.

"No?" Roxas' voice dripped sarcasm.

"Why else do you think he's acting weird, Demyx?" Axel raised an eyebrow.

"I dunno." Demyx shrugged.

"Demyx, you really should be more observant." Zexion said.

"I am in my own little world." Demyx said in a sing-song voice.

"We noticed." Axel and Roxas said together.

"No kidding?" Zexion rolled his eyes.

"You're mean, Zexy!" Demyx playfully punched his boyfriend in the arm.

"Any plans for tonight?" Zexion asked, ignoring the sitarist completely.

"I have no idea, actually." Roxas said.

"What, no video games?" Axel smiled.

"Actually no." Roxas shook his head as he finished his chicken. "I might play the keyboard some if no one minds."

"I don't think Cloud will." Axel said.

"Cloud and Zack are going to be playing volleyball with Tidus, Loz, Lexaeus, Xion and Saïx." Demyx rambled off.

"That's not enough to play volleyball." Axel frowned.

"They're looking for more people." Zexion explained. "Dem and I might go play."

"I didn't think you liked sports." Roxas mused.

"I'm making him." Demyx proclaimed.

"Watch out, Zexion." Axel told the silver-haired teen. "You know how Demyx can get."

"Oh, I know." Zexion said.

"Zexy, we have to find Riku and Sora and get them to play." Demyx said.

"I don't think Riku's going to want to play volleyball." Roxas said.

"It's worth a shot." Demyx said.

And with that, he left the Mess Hall, dragging Zexion behind him.

"Well, that was interesting." Roxas said, staring after Zexion and Demyx.

"But what do you think about Seifer and Hayner?" Axel asked, getting back to the original topic.

"What do you mean?" Roxas asked as he followed Axel out of the cabin, for both of them had finished eating.

"You don't care if Hayner likes Seifer?" Axel asked.

"Why would I care?" Roxas frowned.

"You used to go out with Hayner." Axel clarified as they passed a group of kids from Port Royal. "I don't know if that would make a difference to you."

"I broke up with him, so I don't really care if he goes out with someone else." Roxas said. "Now if he was dating a drug lord, _then_ I'd have a problem."

"Yeah, I think I would, too." Axel nodded.

When they reached their cabin, Roxas and Axel found Vincent typing away on his laptop. In his ears were headphones, but he still took notice of the drummer and the pianist's entrance.

"This is a surprise." Axel said, flopping down on the bed.

"What is?" Vincent wondered.

"You being here." Roxas and Axel said together.

"This is my cabin, is it not?" Vincent questioned.

"But you're never here." Roxas said. "You're always off with Lucrecia."

"This means something?" Vincent looked confused.

"Well, obviously." Axel picked up Sadie and started to play _Daybreak's Bell_.

"And what exactly does it mean?" Vincent asked.

"Are you going out with her?" Roxas asked.

"Yes." Vincent nodded.

Instantly, Roxas and Axel stopped what they were doing and stared at the crimson-eyed teen. How in the _world_ had this happened without them knowing it?

"You're serious?" Axel raised an eyebrow.

"Yes." Vincent nodded again.

"Well, that explains it." Roxas said, picking up his DS.

"Explains what?" Vincent wondered.

"Why you're with Lucrecia so much." Axel said, now playing _My Heart Draws A Dream._

"Is that strange?" Vincent asked.

"Not if you're actually going out." Roxas replied. "If you weren't, then it'd be a little creepy."

"I think we all can agree on that." Axel nodded.

"That's good to hear." Vincent said, suddenly turning off his laptop.

"And where do you think you're going?" Roxas asked, looking over his DS.

"To help Luxord with his Latin homework." Vincent said. "I will return later."

"That's good to know" Axel said as Vincent left.

"Let's go outside." Roxas said.

"Wha?" Axel's peridot eyes were confused. "Why would you want to do that?"

"Because it's nice out?" Roxas' response was a question.

"But I like staying inside." Axel complained.

"You can bring Sadie with you." Roxas said, grabbing Axel by the hand and pulling him outside.

"Geez, Roxas!" Axel exclaimed. "Think you're a bit excited?"

"It's just boring in there." Roxas said.

"Can I at least go get my iPod?" Axel asked.

"You really can't live without music, can you?" Roxas smiled.

"Nope." Axel said as he sprinted in the cabin and brought out his iPod and iHome. "So what are we going to be doing out here?"

"Watching stars?" Roxas suggested, pointing to the midnight sky.

"Now why would you want to do that?" Axel asked as _Mirror Ball_ started playing through the iHome speakers.

"Because there's nothing else to do?" Roxas shrugged. "I really don't know."

"Then we could always kick a soccer ball around." Axel suggested. "I could go get Reno's."

"I'm not in a sport's mood." Roxas said. "Today's game was enough for that."

"That was enough soccer for me." Axel said.  
"Then why'd you suggest it?" Roxas laughed.

"First thing that came to my head." Axel said.

"Why am I not surprised?" Roxas rolled his eyes as he lay down on the grass.

"You really shouldn't be at this point." Axel said, joining him on the grass.

"So why am I?" Roxas looked at the redhead.

"I dunno." Axel shrugged. "You tell me."

"But then I wouldn't need to ask you- you know what?" Roxas said. "This is pointless."

"So let's go inside." Axel said.

"But it's pretty out here." Roxas said.

"I fail to see that, but okay." Axel said. "So we just watch the stars?"

"We can talk." Roxas suggested.

"About what?" Axel asked.

"I was hoping you'd have an idea." Roxas' were on the stars.

"You should know by now that I don't come up with ideas very well." Axel said as _Mirotic _came on over the speakers. "Oh! Dance song!"

"What?" Roxas questioned.

"This is my dancing song!" Axel exclaimed, suddenly jumping off the grass and spinning around in a circle.

"What are you talking about?" Roxas laughed as Axel danced away.

"Whenever I hear this song, I feel like dancing." Axel said, jumping up and down.

"Might I ask why?" Roxas questioned.

"Who knows? I like the beat." Axel shrugged.

"You're crazy, Axel." Roxas shook his head, though he was still laughing. "Do you actually know this dance?" Roxas asked, noticing the way Axel was dancing.

"Of course!" Axel grinned. "I told you I could dance, didn't I?"

"You never said to what, though." Roxas said as Axel spun again and generally danced like he should have been in a strip club.

"I didn't think you liked DBSK." Axel said. "And I'm still not really good at it yet."

"It looks really good, Axel." Roxas said, getting up and trying to follow along with him. "It's hard!"

"Duh." Axel said. "It took months to get it right."

"Yeah, I'd have to say I believe you there." Roxas said.

"And Reno thinks that I'm good for nothing." Axel laughed.

"Well, Reno's a bit off sometimes." Roxas said, still trying to follow Axel's movements.

"What else is new?" Axel said.

"Who knows?" Roxas said as the song finished. "God, that was hard."

"Eh, not once you do it enough." Axel flopped down on the grass.

"So now we really stargaze?" Roxas asked hopefully.

"You're that tired?" Axel looked at the blonde, a surprised expression on his face.

"Well, yeah." Roxas nodded.

"At least we can sleep in tomorrow." Axel pointed out. "No rehearsals."

"For quite a while." Roxas added. "Well, until Friday, anyway."

"That's true." Axel said. "But you know Cid's going to remind us of the rehearsals every day."

"Of course." Roxas nodded. "He wouldn't be Cid if he didn't."

"I guess that's true." Axel said. "So what now?"

"We sit." Roxas said.

So they sat underneath the raven-black sky, each lost in their own separate thoughts.

**It's a lame ending, I know. I don't know how many times I had to watch the video to MIROTIC to understand how to dance it, which I'm going to try to do, by the way. My friend is saying that I have to learn it by thanksgiving. I dunno if that's going to happen...anyway, I'll try my hardest to get chapters up quicker than this, but this is college and i don't always have time since i put school before anything else. So reviews equal love! **

**next chapter: insomnia can do funny things  
**


	18. How Do You Sleep?

**Disclaimer: If this story actually happened, I'd be a little shocked.**

**Hallo! It's Xero! It's been quite a while, hasn't it? college is being a bitch right now, so I don't have a lot of free time. But I hope this chapter is definitly worth the wait. And who can guess who the chapter title's song is by? coughprettyboyjessecough i never thought I'd actually use it. Ah well. on with the deadly tale!  
**

"So what are we supposed to do until we fall asleep?"

After spending about an hour outside watching the stars, Axel decided that enough was enough. There was only so much being outside that he could handle.

"We could always play BS." Roxas suggested.

"But that's not really fun unless we play with a lot of people." Axel pointed out. "I know I'd like to dance some more."

"No!" Roxas exclaimed quickly. "I've had enough of that!"

"Geez, Roxy." Axel laughed. "I was the one who did all the hard work there."

"Yeah, but you made it look easy." Roxas protested. "So seriously, what are we going to do?"

"I have no idea." Axel picked up Sadie and started to play_ Dark Chest of Wonders_.

"You play your guitar all the time, Axel." Roxas scowled.

"Well, what else do you have in mind?" Axel raised an eyebrow.

"We could always get some schoolwork done." Roxas said.

"You've finished yours and you know it." Axel grinned, setting Sadie gently against the wall.

"It was a suggestion." Roxas shrugged.

At that moment, Cloud and Zack entered the cabin, both looking rather annoyed and tired, though Cloud looked much more annoyed than his boyfriend.

"What in hell happened to you two?" Roxas' cerulean eyes scanned the drummer and the guitarist.

"We played volleyball." Cloud sounded extremely furious.

"And this is a bad thing?" Axel assumed as he started drumming _Master Passion Greed _with pencils on the bedpost.

"I _hate_ sports." Cloud said the word with malice.

"Then why'd you want to play?" Roxas raised an eyebrow.

"We were forced to." Zack said, wrapping an arm around his boyfriend.

"I _told_ you we should've said no." Cloud glared at the obsidian-haired teen.

"You'd better calm him down, Zack." Axel said, his peridot eyes on the guitarist as well. "Roxas and I don't want to wake up and find Demyx's head somewhere in the cabin tonight."

"I don't think even Cid would allow that." Roxas shook his head.

"I'll be fine in a few minutes." Cloud pulled out his headphones and iPod and shoved the earbuds in his ears before lying across the bed. A few minutes later, _Break Down_ could be heard at such a loud decibel level that even Axel across the room could hear the words perfectly.

"Think it's loud enough, Cloud?" Roxas yelled.

Cloud simply shook his head, his ice-blue eyes closed. Axel and Roxas looked hesitantly at Zack, who took the whole incident in stride and did nothing.

"He's like this sometimes." Zack said with the air of someone talking about the weather.

"Like Axel." Roxas smiled.

"I don't do that." Axel said. "Do I?"

"You'd be surprised." Zack said. "You do it more than you think. Especially when you're frustrated."

"Demyx said that you did it a lot before we got along when I wasn't around." Roxas said.

"That sentence makes no sense, you know." Axel laughed.

"When I wasn't around, you used to do it a lot, but back when we didn't get along." Roxas sighed, rephrasing his statement.

"Cloud said the same thing, Axel." Zack said, as if this mattered.

"If you say so." Axel said, still drumming with the pencils.

"So what do we do until Mr. Grumpy's better?" Roxas asked.

"I _can_ hear what you guys are saying, you know." Cloud said, not opening his eyes.

"Oh, we know, babe." Zack smiled.

"Then why are you talking about me?" Cloud opened an eye to glare at his boyfriend.

"Because we want to do something, numb-nuts." Axel said, throwing a pencil at the blonde.

"Numb-nuts?" Roxas, Zack and Cloud questioned together.

"I just said it, okay?" Axel rolled his eyes. "So sue me."

"Okay, I'll do that." Roxas grinned.

"You know you wouldn't, Roxie." Axel said.

"Roxie?" Cloud and Zack said simultaneously.

"How come he can call you Roxie when we can't?" Zack asked as Cloud retreated to his music again.

"I didn't say I like it." Roxas said, shooting a glare in the direction of the redhead. "He just won't stop calling me that."

"I have another nickname in mind for you, but I know you'd hate it." Axel said, retrieving another pencil and continuing his drumming.

"And what would this be?" Roxas questioned.

"Like I'm going to tell you." Axel laughed.

"Now I wanna know." Zack said, suddenly becoming interested.

"But I'm not going to tell you." Axel said, leaning back in his bed so that his head was resting against the wall.

"I'm back." Cloud said, taking the earbuds out of his ears.

"Which songs today?" Zack asked.

"_Break Down _and _Labyrinth_." Cloud replied.

"Short list today." Zack commented.

"I was in a better mood than usual." Cloud said.

"I'd hate to see you in a bad mood, then." Axel said.

"Riku says it's ugly." Roxas noted.

"Riku?" Zack raised an eyebrow. "How would he know?"

"Cloud and Riku had a class together last year." Roxas responded. "Political History, I think."

"And that matters because…?" Axel tried to get Roxas to get to the point.

"Because Riku and Cloud had some project and Cloud completely freaked over it." Roxas said.

"You know, I _can_ tell the story." Cloud said.

"Oh." Roxas said. "I forgot you were here."

"Typical Roxas." Axel laughed. "He forgot what song we were playing the other day as we were playing it."

"How does _that_ happen?" Zack narrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"I was spacing out." Roxas shrugged.

"That sounds like something Yuffie would do." Cloud said.

"That's true." Zack said.

"Let's go see if Loz and Saïx want to play poker." Cloud grabbed Zack's hand and dragged him out of the cabin.

"Well, that was random." Roxas noted.

"Yep." Axel nodded.

"I think I'm going to go to bed now." Roxas said.

This was prevented, however, by two more intrusions in the forms of Reno and Kadaj.

"What in hell are you guys doing here?" Axel demanded.

"We can't hang out just for the hell of it?" Reno wondered.

"When you do, you're usually planning something." Axel said.

"I find that offensive, yo!" Reno exclaimed.

"Oh, you can't say you're surprised, Reno." Kadaj said.

"So why _are_ you here?" Roxas asked, pulling out his DS.

"We're bored." Reno and Kadaj said together.

"Then do something that's not here." Axel said, throwing his pillow at his twin.

"It's nice to see we're wanted, Kadaj." Reno threw the pillow back at his brother.

"Well, what else are we going to do?" Kadaj frowned.

"Sleep." Roxas said. "Like normal people."

"Sleep is for wimps." Kadaj said, sitting down on Vincent's bed.

"Says the one who sleeps a million hours a day." Roxas smiled.

"I do not!" Kadaj protested.

"You _do _sleep a lot in class, yo." Reno shrugged.

"He's got you there, Kadaj." Axel said.

"And you have bad grammar." Roxas commented.

"Oh, who cares?" Axel rolled his eyes. "So why aren't you guys leaving yet?"

"Because we have every right to be here." Kadaj said.

"But this isn't your cabin." Roxas said.

"That doesn't matter, yo." Reno said. "I'm Axel's brother. I can see him whenever."

"But you notice that Sora doesn't come over at all hours of the day, either." Roxas pointed out.

"That's a good thing." Axel shuddered. "As much as I like Sora, he can drive me crazy at times."

"You think that's bad?" Roxas raised an eyebrow. "Try living with him."

"Is it like living with him?" Axel pointed a finger at his twin.

"I would imagine so." Roxas nodded in agreement.

"I'm right here, yo." Reno sounded annoyed.

"Oh, we know you are." Kadaj laughed.

"Then why does no one remember?" Reno questioned.

"Because we don't want to?" Axel suggested as he took out Sadie and started to play _Wanderlust. _

"I'm glad to see you care about me, Axel, yo." Reno rolled his eyes.

"Reno, I'm going to go find Lexaeus and see if he wants to do anything." Kadaj said.

"So why are you telling me, yo?" Reno raised an eyebrow.

"Because I thought you were going with me." Kadaj said.

"Yes, by all means, go with him." Axel said.

"You don't want him out of here, do you, Axel?" Roxas laughed.

"Okay, if you want me to leave that badly, then I'll go." Reno said.

"See ya, then." Axel said as Kadaj and Reno left, Reno looking a tad annoyed with his brother. Axel turned to face the blonde and asked, "So what now?"

"I feel like music." Roxas turned off the DS and plugged his iPod into the iHome.

"You've been around me too much." Axel smiled.

"Just a bit, huh?" Roxas nodded as _I Came To Party _could be heard throughout the cabin.

"You like Cinema Bizarre?" Axel frowned.

"Why wouldn't I?" Roxas raised an eyebrow.

"You don't look like you'd be into them." Axel explained.

"Well, since I have pretty much every song, I'd say I like them." Roxas grinned.

"Yeah, I guess that'd make sense." Axel agreed.

"So I guess Sadie has to go now." Axel set his precious guitar against the wall.

"You can keep playing if you want." Roxas said. "I'm not stopping you."

"Nah, that's okay." Axel shook his head.

"So, any plans for tomorrow?" Roxas asked.

"I was planning on playing poker with some of the guys in the morning." Axel said, running his fingers through his wild spikes. "What about you?"

"No idea." Roxas shook his head. "Probably going to work on finishing _Lunar Knights_ again."

"Roxas, why don't you come with us?" Axel suggested. "You need to stop playing so many video games."

"Hark who's talking." Roxas said, referring to Axel's frequent video game playing.

"But I hang out with people, too." Axel explained.

"So I don't hang out with people?" Roxas raised an eyebrow.

"No, you do." Axel said. "I know you do."

"Then why do you want me to be with the guys?" Roxas asked, his cerulean eyes on the drummer. "You know I'm not good at poker."

"Because I like being around you." Axel replied calmly.

"Okay…" Roxas wasn't sure what to make of Axel's statement.

"What?" Axel frowned, noticing that Roxas was acting strangely.

"It's nothing." Roxas shook his head, trying to ignore the sudden eruption of butterflies in his stomach.

"Ah, I guess we should be getting ready for bed, huh?" Axel said as he glanced at Cloud's clock that was resting nearby on a bedside table.

"Yeah, that'd be a good thing, I guess." Roxas nodded in agreement.

"So, good night, I guess." Axel said, crawling under the covers.

"Yeah." Roxas nodded and turned off the light, enveloping the room in darkness.

The cabin was quiet, something that happened very rarely. Axel could see Roxas turn over on his stomach and face Vincent's side of the room, though he couldn't see if the blonde's eyes were open.

Axel remained on his back, his hands behind his head, peridot eyes staring up at the ceiling, but seeing only darkness. For some reason, he couldn't sleep. He knew he should be; he'd certainly done enough to make him tired, but the sleep wouldn't come.

Annoyed, Axel grabbed his iPod from the floor near Sadie, shoved the headphones in his ears, and started looking for a song to listen to. As soon as the headphones connected to the iPod, light flooded Axel's side of the cabin. Axel could have sworn he heard Roxas laugh from the other side of the room, but when the redhead looked over at the keyboardist, he found that the blonde hadn't moved an inch from his last position.

Axel tore his eyes away from Roxas and focused them on his iPod. He'd always liked the fact that he had over a thousand songs on the music device, but now he was starting to regret it. By having over a thousand songs, he had that many to choose from, which wasn't a good thing when he wanted to fall asleep quickly.

Axel eventually decided to listen to _Lucifer's Angel_ by The Rasmus, something that usually put him to sleep quickly. But when the song was finished, he was still awake, something that Axel found very confusing.

Something was keeping him awake. Something in his mind was preventing him from falling asleep. But what was that?

Axel had an idea of what it was. The same thing kept surfacing in his thoughts, something that he'd been thinking about a lot as of late. He had no idea why, but they just wouldn't get out of his head.

But as he turned to look at Roxas, Axel realized that he knew the answer. Axel always felt differently around Roxas, but he knew why: he liked him. And he was somewhat sure that Roxas liked him back.

So what could he do? Was he going to let things stay the way they were, since Axel really didn't want to ruin his newfound friendship with Roxas? Or was he going to try and take it to the next level? It wasn't like Roxas would have a problem with it; he was gay, for crying out loud.

But as Axel was thinking this, thoughts of his previous relationship with Larxene floated into his head. While he had had fun with Larxene, Axel knew that it wasn't a good relationship at all. What if his relationship with Roxas became like his and Larxene's? Granted, Roxas and Axel had already gone through a period of constant arguing, but he didn't want to experience that again.

But was going out with Roxas worth the risk? When he stopped to think about it, Axel had more in common with the blonde than he thought. And Larxene herself had said that going out with Roxas could give him a chance at having a normal relationship.

"Fuck it." Axel formed the words silently with his lips, not wanting to disturb the silence that enveloped the cabin. "I'm going for it."

**I can just HEAR all of the AkuRoku fangirls right now. I must say that I was very dissapointed with DAYS in that sense. Really good game, though. I've captured a crap-load of plot bunnies for the next chapter, and I've been waiting to write it for quite some time. I might not be able to write it until Thanksgiving break, though, but don't be suprised if the next chapter is out in late December. God, I hate college. Anyway, reviews equal love!**

**next chapter: timing is of the essence.  
**


	19. Hanging By A Moment

**Disclaimer: It would be awesome if I owned this, wouldn't it?**

**Hallo! It's Xero! Happy year of the Luxord! I just got through my first week back at college. It's been interesting, let me tell you. So I hope this chapter is worth the wait. So it's a little after eleven at night, so I decided to update this while listening to David Bowie. The people in the room across the hall from me are having a party. Lucky me. Anyway, on with the deadly tale!  
**

The tenth day started out like any other, despite the fact that Roxas woke up a little after eleven. He probably would have slept longer if Demyx hadn't started playing _220_ on his sitar, which sounded very strange on the stringed instrument.

"Demyx, stop playing or the sitar gets thrown out the window." Roxas groaned, throwing a nearby pen at the fauxhawked teen.

"You two have to get up!" Demyx exclaimed.

"What do you mean 'you two'?" Roxas raised an eyebrow.

"Cloud's still asleep." Demyx explained.

"Not anymore." Cloud groaned.

"Cloud!" Demyx shouted. "You're awake!"

"How could I sleep through that racket?" Cloud sighed as he dove back under the covers.

"Because you're not meant to."

Roxas turned to the other side of the room and saw Axel sitting on his bed with a mysterious smile set on his lips.

"So you use Dem to wake us up?" Cloud poked his head out from under the covers to glare at the drummer.

"It was either Demyx and the sitar or Vexen and the bari sax." Axel shrugged, yanking the headphones out of his ears.

"I'd rather deal with Vexen and the bari sax than Demyx and the sitar." Roxas said, slowly getting out of bed.

"I'm not that bad!" Demyx protested, gently resting the blue instrument against the wall.

"Dem, no sane person wants to wake up to that _thing_." Cloud said, putting as much emphasis on the last word as humanly possible.

"It's better than Yuffie with cymbals." Axel pointed out.

"Ah, fair enough." Cloud said, throwing back the covers and getting out of bed. "It's just as well. I'm supposed to go study with Zack."

"Good luck with that one." Roxas said, pulling on a black Nightwish shirt. "What subject?"

"Chemistry." Cloud grimaced as he got dressed. "Neither of us is looking forward to it."

"Cloud, I don't think anyone really likes chem." Axel said.

"Who doesn't?" came a voice that belonged to Zexion, since the clarinettist had just walked into the cabin, most likely to see Demyx.

"No one, generally." Cloud said as he pulled on a pair of jeans. "Yet Zack and I have to study."

"Sucks to be you." Zexion shrugged as he latched onto his boyfriend.

"What's up, Zexion?" Axel asked, plugging the crimson iPod into his iHome.

"Dem and I are going to play Egyptian Rat Screw with Seifer and Hayner." Zexion responded. "Anyone want to join us?"

"I'm good, thanks." Axel said.

"Anyone know what's up with them lately?" Roxas asked.

"No idea." Cloud and Demyx said together.

"Maybe they have a thing for each other." Axel suggested. "Hayner certainly does for Seifer, at any rate."

"But I'd never think Seifer would want to go out with Hayner." Roxas said.

"And I thought Hayner was still lusting over you, Roxas?" Cloud frowned.

"I turned him down, Cloud." Roxas said.

"Don't crush the guy, Roxas!" Demyx exclaimed, looking mortified.

"Hey, Hayner's been cool with it, hasn't he?" Axel pointed out, suddenly becoming agitated.

"Apparently so, considering he wants to go out with Seifer." Zexion shrugged.

"We never agreed on that." Roxas said, pulling out his DS.

"I thought we did?" Zexion frowned.

"Nope." Cloud shook his head. "I'm heading out. I'll see you guys later."

"See ya." Roxas nodded as Cloud walked out of the door.

"So what now?" Demyx asked.

"We were going to go play Egyptian Rat Screw with Hayner and Seifer, babe." Zexion said as if he were talking to a kindergartner.

"Demyx, you have the memory capacity of a fruit fly." Roxas said, not looking up from the video game console.

"You're just finding this out?" Axel smiled, causing the butterflies to erupt in Roxas' stomach.

"I think we've all known." Zexion said.

"_I think you're fine. You really blow my mind._" Demyx started singing randomly.

"It's official." Axel proclaimed. "Demyx has lost his mind."

"What else is new?" Roxas laughed.

"_I just want you to know I wanna be your Romeo. Hey Juliet. Hey Juliet!_" Demyx continued singing.

"Babe, stop singing!" Zexion grabbed his boyfriend's shoulders and shook him violently. "You'll wake the dead!"

"I've always wanted to know how that would work." Axel grinned as he grabbed Sadie and pulled it onto his lap.

"Quite interestingly, I'd imagine." Roxas said.

"Dem, why are you singing?" Axel asked the sitarist. "And why that song in particular?"

"Must I have a reason for everything?" Demyx questioned.

"With you, definitely." Roxas replied.

"I woke up with it in my head." Demyx explained.

"Somehow I'm not surprised." Axel rolled his eyes.

"So why don't you have a girlfriend, Axel?" Demyx asked randomly.

"What brought that on?" Axel raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, no reason." Demyx said in a voice that was clearly meant to be nonchalant.

"Dem, you're as bad a liar as Sora." Roxas said, cerulean eyes on the sitarist.

"Well, why not?" Demyx asked, facing Axel.

"Because I haven't found someone?" Axel phrased his response like a question.

"Now _you're _lying, Axel." Roxas' eyes were on the redhead.

"What are you talking about, Roxas?" Zexion frowned.

"He means to say that I'm lying, Zexion." Axel said, sending Roxas a quick glare.

"So you _do_ like someone!" Demyx exclaimed.

"But I'm not telling you who." Axel said quickly.

"And why not?" Demyx demanded.

"Because you will go tell everyone who she is." Axel said, glaring at the sitarist.

"How do you know I will?" Demyx wondered.

"Dem, it's kinda obvious." Roxas said.

"You notice that we never ask you to keep secrets?" Zexion asked, his grey-blue eyes on his boyfriend.

"No..." Demyx frowned.

"Whatever." Zexion rolled his eyes. "Let's get going."

"Okay, I'll see you guys later!" Demyx exclaimed as Zexion dragged him out of the cabin.

"Well, that was quite interesting." Roxas said, his eyes on the cabin door.

"Indeed." Axel said, walking over to the blonde and taking his hand. "Now, come on."

"What are you in a hurry to do?" Roxas questioned as he was dragged out of the cabin.

"There's a rumour going around that we're playing _Pompeii_ for the competition." Axel said as he released Roxas' hand.

"Seriously?" Roxas looked at the drummer in surprise. "Why's that?"

"No idea." Axel said. "That's why we're going to ask Cid about it."

"And we are heading towards the practice field because...?" Roxas questioned.

"Because that's where he should be." Axel said. "I'm just excited that we're playing E.S. Posthumus."

"E.S. Posthumus?" Roxas frowned.

"They're the band that originally did the song." Axel stopped and looked at the keyboardist in amazement. "Don't tell me you've never heard of them?"

"No?" Roxas said meekly, fearing what Axel was going to do.

"I love the fact that I actually play drums on this one." Axel grinned as he and Roxas took off again.

"Yeah, that's rare for you, isn't it?" Roxas said.

"Damn right it is." Axel said.

When they reached the practice stage, Roxas and Axel found Cid on the stage with half the marching band and colour guard.

"What in hell is going on?" Axel questioned.

"I was here checking equipment." Cid said. "I don't know what the hell everyone else is doing."

"Cid, are we really performing _Pompeii_ for the competition?" Axel said, getting straight to the point.

"Yeah, are we?" asked Kadaj, who was playing a game of 007 with Reno.

"Since we suddenly need a fourth piece, yes." Cid said.

"Sweet!" Axel exclaimed.

"But why do we need a fourth song?" Zack asked from where he sat with Cloud, Chemistry textbooks spread before them.

"Who knows?" Cid shrugged. "The judges decided that we needed a new piece and _Pompeii _is ready to perform."

"Just don't tell Vexen, yo." Reno said.

"Why's that?" Demyx asked.

"He loathes it with a passion." Roxas said, sitting down next to Axel.

"Well, who gives a damn about Vexen anyway?" Cid said as he walked off the stage. "Look, you technically aren't supposed to be on the stage right now."

"Since when do you ever care about rules, Cid?" Kadaj raised an eyebrow.

"But as long as you guys don't kill someone, I don't give a damn." Cid said as he walked away.

"Gotta love him sometimes." Cloud said.

"Why in hell are you studying here?" Zexion asked. "This is the worst place to get any sort of studying done."

"Lexaeus was doing something with Marluxia, Tidus and Wakka." Zack replied.

"And aren't you two supposed to be with Seifer and Hayner?" Roxas asked Demyx and Zexion as the blonde walked down off the stage so he could do cartwheels without hitting anyone.

"We couldn't find them." Demyx said.

"Ah." Roxas said. "It's not like it's a real loss, anyway."

"_I feel pretty, oh so pretty!_" Demyx started singing. _"I feel pretty-"_

"_-and witty and gay_." Axel finished. "We know, Demyx."

"I like that song." Demyx said needlessly.

"Gee, I wonder how we knew, yo?" Reno rolled his eyes.

"What's with you two?" Axel asked Kadaj, who was currently resting his head on Reno's shoulder with his arm around the redhead's waist.

"What do you mean?" Kadaj frowned.

"Never mind." Axel shook his head. "It doesn't matter."

"Well, you obviously meant something, Axel." Kadaj said.

"Just forget about it." Axel said, walking over to the edge of the stage so he could properly talk to Roxas." And what are you doing, Roxas?"

"Doing cartwheels." Roxas responded as Demyx and Zexion started doing the _Hare Hare Yukai_ in the middle of the stage.

"And why are you doing that?" Axel asked curiously.

"Because I feel like it?" Roxas frowned.

"Demyx, watch where you're going!" Zack yelled as Demyx ran into Axel, causing the drummer to fall off the stage and land on top of Roxas.

Neither Roxas nor Axel said anything. Both froze in their positions, Axel's hands on either side of Roxas' head on the grass, the peridot eyes staring into Roxas' cerulean ones. Roxas stared up into Axel's eyes, wondering why the hell his heart wouldn't stop racing.

"Geez, that's interesting."

Axel immediately jumped off of Roxas, the back of his neck turning bright scarlet, before holding out his hand to the blonde.

"You okay?" Axel asked as he faced the keyboardist.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Roxas said as he grabbed Axel's hand and pulled himself up, his cheekbones growing pink.

"See, _this _is why you watch where you're going, Demyx!" Zexion smacked his boyfriend upside the head.

"Roxas, why is your face red, yo?" Reno asked, his grey-blue eyes on Roxas.

"It's not." Roxas said, but this caused him to blush even more.

"Yeah, it is." Demyx said.

"Lay off, guys." Axel said.

"And you're acting strangely yourself, Axel." Kadaj said, looking at Axel with blue-green eyes.

"No, I'm not." Axel said, subconsciously rubbing the back of his neck.

"Okay, if you say so." Kadaj said, though he was still looking at the drummer with a strange expression.

"So what are the plans for today?" Roxas asked, in an attempt to change the subject to something less conspicuous.

"No idea." Reno said.

"I wanna practice." Roxas said as he walked over to the keyboard on the back of the stage.

"Now why would you do that?" Zexion frowned.

"Because I feel like it." Roxas said.

"Well, Reno and I are going to go play basketball against Leon and Xigbar." Kadaj said, pulling the redhead to his feet and walking off the stage with Reno protesting all the while.

"Anyone think they're acting strangely?" Axel asked.

"Kadaj and Reno?" Zexion questioned. "I think so. Has Reno said anything to you?"

"Why would he?" Axel frowned.

'He's kinda your brother, Axel." Roxas smiled, causing butterflies to erupt in Axel's stomach.

"But we don't tell each other everything." Axel said.

"So I guess he hasn't." Zexion said. "Dem, let's go find Yuna and Rikku."

"Why in the world would you do that?" Roxas questioned.

"For something to do?" Zexion's response was a question as he led Demyx off the stage, leaving Roxas and Axel alone.

Neither the drummer nor the keyboardist said anything for a few moments. Both were still slightly shocked from Roxas' fall off the stage that they couldn't quite find the words to speak. Roxas decided to ease the tension a little by warming up to _Ulaid _by E.S. Posthumus, a song he figured Axel would like.

"I thought you didn't know the band, Roxas." Axel broke the silence when the song was done.

"I forgot that they did this song at the time." Roxas admitted. "This is one of my favourites to play."

"And you played it really well." Axel said, slowly walking over to the keyboard.

His fingers rested on the keys for a few moments, as if he was trying to think of something, before he started to play the vocals for _Here Comes The Sun_.

"You've been practicing?" Roxas raised an eyebrow.

"I remembered what you said about the keys and notes." Axel explained. "I can play this on the guitar, so I just converted the chords to keys on the piano."

"That's pretty good, Axel" Roxas said.

"It's much better on the guitar." Axel said, fingers moving away from the keys.

"Both together are really pretty." Roxas said as he started to play again.

Axel immediately recognized the song, but couldn't figure out what it was called. After a few seconds, he realized that it was _Gomenasai_.

"Why this song in particular?" Axel questioned.

"I don't know." Roxas shrugged. "I kind of feel like I need to play this right now."

"You do know what gomenasai means, right?" Axel said. "It means 'I'm sorry'."

"That's why." Roxas said softly.

"What is?" Axel wondered.

"I've been thinking a lot lately." Roxas said, his cerulean eyes into Axel's peridot ones.

"Let me guess..." Axel said slowly.

"Well, I feel kinda bad for Hayner now!" Roxas exclaimed.

"Just because you've found a new guy?" Axel questioned.

"Uh-huh." Roxas nodded.

"Roxas, you don't see me feeling bad for Larxene even though I like someone else." Axel pointed out.

"But Larxene didn't ask you back out." Roxas challenged.

"No, but I don't think you need to be that worried about Hayner, Roxas." Axel said.

"How do you figure?" Roxas frowned.

"Look how he is around Seifer." Axel said, looking Roxas in the eye. "I think he really has a thing for him."

"Maybe you're right." Roxas said slowly.

"I am." Axel said. "Trust me"

"Okay." Roxas said.

"You _have_ to cheer up, Roxas!" Axel said, shaking the blonde slightly. "It's depressing to see you so, well..."

"Depressed?" Roxas suggested.

"Exactly." Axel nodded. "It's not like you. You being depressed is like Demyx being angst-ridden."

"Which is essentially the same thing." Roxas pointed out.

"Oh, you know what I mean." Axel rolled his eyes. "So are you okay now?"

"I guess so." Roxas nodded.

"Good." Axel said. "Because we're going to go find something to do and I don't want you to be depressed anymore."

**My GOD I've been waiting for something like the Stage Incident for quite some time. *laughs* Anyway, I love E.S. Posthumus. I'm making a video of Organization XIII to Pompeii. It's taking me a while. It'll be up on my YouTube when it's done. So let me know how this chapter was! Reviews equal love! Xero out. **

**Next chapter: a little confession from Axel?  
**


	20. I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend

**Disclaimer: If I owned KH, I'd have Vexen's experiments a bit more interesting.**

**Hey yo! I'm still alive and done my first year of college! I'm SO sorry I couldn't update. I really wanted to: this plot bunny was bugging me for months and months, but by the time I was done with homework at night, I was exhausted. Plus the newspaper took up most of my time. But on the plus side, I'm now the entertainment editor, so I'll be paid a lot more next year. **

**In regards to this chapter, I had to take out a few things, but I'll try my best to add them in later chapters. I had no idea this would be this long! This is officially the longest thing I've put on . Wow. And I thought TTIC was really long. Anyway, I hope this chapter makes up for the uber lateness. Let the deadly tale continue!**

"Roxas, I'm bored."

The blonde looked up from his DS and found Axel's peridot eyes on him. The redhead had been playing his guitar for a quarter of an hour before deciding to do something else. After reading a volume of _Hellsing_, the drummer realized that he was bored again.

"So what do you want me to do about it?" Roxas returned to his game.

"Let's go do something." Axel said, lying down on stomach on the bed, eyes still on Roxas.

"And what do you suggest, Axel?" Roxas asked.

"No idea." Axel shrugged. "I was hoping you'd have an idea."

Just when Roxas opened his mouth to speak, however, the cabin doors opened and an interruption in the form of Kadaj walked in, holding a sapphire DS in his hand.

"What's up, you two?" the silver-haired teen asked as he sat down on Cloud's bed.

"Axel was just complaining that there was nothing to do." Roxas replied, his eyes still on his video game.

"When is he not complaining about something?" Kadaj raised an eyebrow.

"That's a fair point." Axel said as he picked up Sadie and started to play _Sleeping Sun_.

"So what are _you_ going to do today, Kadaj?" Roxas asked, looking up at the silver-haired teen.

"Reno and I are going to go play some basketball later." Kadaj said, flipping the DS lid open and close.

"Hey, what's up with you and Reno?" Axel asked suddenly, the peridot eyes locking onto Kadaj's green ones.

"What do you mean?" Kadaj frowned.

"You two were acting kinda weird earlier." Axel explained. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah." Kadaj nodded. "You know I'd tell you if something was going on."

"I'd hope so." Axel offered a small smile before starting to play _The Island_. "We've been best friends since what? Third grade?"

"Pretty much." Kadaj nodded.

At that moment, _The Sharpest Lives_ rang throughout the cabin. Roxas and Kadaj checked their phones and, upon realizing that their phones were not creating the loud disruption, looked at Axel to see if it was his phone that was going off.

Axel pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the screen to see who was calling him. It turned out, however, to be nothing more than a simple text message.

"Larxene." Axel said, the surprise obvious in his voice.

"What does she want?" Kadaj asked curiously.

"She just wants me to meet her in front of her cabin in five." Axel frowned, the peridot eyes narrowed.

"Well, are you going?" Roxas wondered as he switched out _Final Fantasy IV _for _Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass_. "Don't you not get along with her?"

"We get along fine now." Axel said, fingers moving quickly against the keyboard of his phone. "I'll be gone for a few minutes." His eyes found Roxas as he asked, "Why, do you not want me to leave you?"

Roxas flushed as he replied, "N-no, I'll be fine."

"If you say so." Axel smiled and walked out of the cabin.

Axel didn't have to walk all the way to Larxene's cabin to find the blonde. He was almost to Kadaj and Reno's cabin when he saw Larxene coming from the direction of the Mess Hall.

"Yeah, this really looks like your cabin, Larxene." Axel said.

"I was helping Xion with her Chemistry homework again." Larxene sighed. "The girl's hopeless with chem."

"I'd believe it." Axel nodded. "I was in her Intro to Chemistry class."

"I forgot about that." Larxene said.

"So what's up?" Axel asked as they reached Larxene's cabin.

"I just want to know how you're doing with this guy of yours." Larxene said as she and Axel walked inside.

"Why?" Axel wondered.

"Because I know how much you like him." Larxene threw her bag against the wall and sat down on her bed.

"I don't really talk about him that much around you, though." Axel mused.

"That one conversation was all it took, Axel." Larxene smiled. "Besides, I think you should have a chance to go out with someone."

"Even if I'm with another guy?" Axel's eyes found Larxene's.

"Hey, I don't care." Larxene shrugged. "As long as it feels right, then it doesn't matter."

"Okay, if you say so." Axel sat down on the floor so that he was leaning against the wall.

"But you won't tell me who he is, will you?" Larxene asked, drumming out _Helena _on her knee.

"Nope." Axel smiled.

"Not even a little description?" Larxene asked.

"Like I said before, I can't think of one specific word to describe him. I'd say he's beautiful, but he's more than that." Axel replied. "Every word that I think of never seems to fit."

"You've really fallen pretty hard for this guy, haven't you?" Larxene hadn't realized that it had gotten to this point.

"I guess, yeah." Axel shrugged.

"It's still weird that my ex-boyfriend is into guys." Larxene sighed.

"Believe me, it's weird for me, too." Axel nodded. "I'm still not used to it."

"Well, it _does_ take some getting used to." Larxene said.

At that moment, Yuna walked into the cabin. Her mismatched eyes looked rather confused when she saw Axel sitting on the floor.

"Larxene, is there a reason why Axel is here?" She asked.

"Because I can be?" Axel's response was a question. "You used to come over to our cabin all the time, remember?"

"Because I was looking for someone." Yuna responded.

"When are you not?" Larxene rolled her eyes.

"Well, I'm heading back." Axel said as he stood up. "Roxas and Kadaj are waiting."

"Okay, if you say so." Yuna said as Axel left.

* * *

"Roxas, I'm stuck."

Roxas looked up from his laptop, where he had been watching _Moulin Rouge_, and found Kadaj sprawled out on Axel's bed, where he had moved to after the departure of the redhead. His eyes were focused on the sapphire DS in front of him as he tried to get past something in the unknown game.

"What are you playing, Kadaj?" Roxas paused the movie, which showed Christian and Satine inside the Elephant building.

"_Lunar Knights_." Kadaj responded. "I can't beat the Poes!"

"They're easy!" Roxas exclaimed.

"If they're so easy, why haven't I figured it out by now?" Kadaj raised an eyebrow.

"Because you're dense like that?" Roxas smiled. "If you can't get it by tomorrow, I'll help. Okay?"

"Fine." Kadaj scowled.

"Where's Axel?" Roxas wondered. "He's been gone a while."

"About five minutes, Roxas." Kadaj's eyes were on Roxas. "He doesn't have a time limit, you know."

"Who doesn't?"

The door opened and Axel sauntered in. He looked from Roxas to Kadaj as if he suspected that the two were plotting something.

"You." Kadaj said as he returned to his game.

"Roxas, why are you watching _Moulin Rouge_?" Axel didn't have to see the computer screen to know what Roxas was doing.

"How do you know I'm watching _Moulin Rouge_?" Roxas challenged as Axel somehow managed to sit down on his bed next to Kadaj.

"What other movie has the _Elephant Love Song Medley_?" Axel smiled, referencing the song that the two characters were singing.

"Good point." Roxas shrugged.

"What did Larxene want?" Kadaj asked.

"She needed to know if I'd seen her laptop." Axel invented off the top of his head, since he didn't want the other two to know what they'd really been talking about. "Then Yuna showed up."

"Say no more." Roxas said. "We all know how Yuna is."

"It's a wonder Tidus is still going out with her." Kadaj mused.

At that moment, Kairi and Tifa walked through the cabin doors, both girls looking slightly out of breath.

"What's up with you two?" Kadaj wondered, eyes narrowed in confusion.

"We just ran here from the basketball courts." Tifa explained.

"We're getting a game of Twister together." Kairi continued. "Anyone interested?"

"Sure." Roxas said, taking Axel by surprise. "It's not like I'm doing anything else."

"Roxas is hanging out with people instead of playing video games?" Axel thought this was worth noting. "Kairi, you'd better call Cid. Something's wrong with Roxas."

"Oh, lighten up." Roxas punched Axel in the arm.

"I'll go." Kadaj turned off his gaming device. "Since Roxas won't tell me how to beat the Poes."

"Where is it?" Axel asked. "And who's going?"

"The basketball courts and right now it's you three, the two of us, Hayner, Seifer, Riku and Sora." Tifa answered.

"We could use a few more people if we're going to make it really interesting." Axel said as everyone headed out of the cabin.

"Oh, we're trying to get some more people." Kairi said as they passed a group of teens from Wonderland. "Zexion was going to see if Demyx wants to play."

"He will." Kadaj and Axel said together.

"How about Marluxia and Vexen?" Roxas wondered.

"Roxas, can you see Vexen playing Twister?" Tifa looked incredulously at the blonde.

"No, but Marluxia might." Roxas pointed out.

"He wouldn't, anyway." Kairi said as the basketball courts became visible.

"And why's that, Kai?" Roxas asked.

"Because he's studying with Lexaeus, Pence and Luxord." Kairi responded.

"I guess that's a good enough reason." Axel shrugged.

When they reached the basketball courts a few minutes later, there were a few more people present than when Kairi and Tifa had left. Demyx and Zexion were there, as well as Reno.

"Why is Roxas here?" Sora looked confused to see his brother at the basketball courts.

"Because I can be?" Roxas frowned.

"We thought you'd be playing video games." Riku explained, his arm around Sora.

"I guess the kid has a life outside video games, Riku." Reno shrugged.

For some reason, Axel's twin was avoiding looking at Kadaj. When he did, a strange look came into his eyes and he quickly looked away.

"And Seifer and Hayner are here, too?" Axel frowned.

"Well, they're here, aren't they?" Kadaj pointed out.

"Where else would we be?" Seifer frowned.

"Axel, I said that they'd be here." Tifa informed the redhead.

"So is everyone that's going to play here?" Kairi asked.

"Xion wants to come, but she's working on homework." Demyx said. "And Vexen said that he'd only play if a herd of elephants came falling out of the sky."

"I wouldn't put it past him to try it." Zexion rolled his eyes.

"So let's get going, huh?" Kairi asked.

"Who's going to call colours?" Axel asked as the group gathered around the mat.

"I can." Tifa said as she grabbed the coloured spinner. "I trust I don't need to explain the rules?"

"Nah, I'm good." Hayner shook his head. "Might want to explain them to Roxas, though."

"And why's that, Hayner?" Roxas' cerulean eyes found Hayner.

"Remember the last time we played?" Hayner asked the keyboardist, a smile set on his lips.

"You know full well that we were still going out." Roxas shot a quick glare at Hayner, but he, too, smiled at the memory.

"Geez, Roxas!" Axel exclaimed. "What did you two _do_?"

"Nothing at all." Roxas said simply. "Shall we get started?"

"What the hell is going on?"

Zack and Cloud were walking across the grass from the Mess Hall, both looking rather confused at the scene before them. Zack had a soccer ball under his arm and Cloud was putting his cell phone back in his pocket.

"Twister." Seifer said. "Wanna join?"

"Maybe next round." Cloud shook his head. "It doesn't look like there's enough room."

"We can stay and watch." Zack said. "We could help calling moves."

"I'll need all the help I can get making sure no one's breaking any rules." Tifa said appreciatively. "We all know how Axel can be..."

"Oh come off it, Tifa!" Axel exclaimed. "I'm not that bad."

"Well..." Reno said slowly.

"So can we get started or what?" Demyx asked eagerly.

"Someone's excited." Hayner laughed.

"Okay, everyone get set." Tifa said, signalling the start of the game.

Everyone lined up in front of the plastic mat. Zack and Cloud stood next to Tifa, watching the players to make sure that they abided by the rules.

"Right foot green." Tifa called out.

The players spread across the mat, each one with their right foot on a green circle.

"Left hand yellow." Tifa recited.

There was some confusion as to where people were going, but after a few seconds, everyone had their left hand on a yellow circle.

After about ten minutes, not much had happened. Seifer had fallen, but everyone else was still in the game. Kairi looked like she was going to fall, but she was holding up very well considering that she was underneath Riku.

"How much longer can you hold out, Sora?" Cloud asked the tenor sax player, who was currently overtop both Axel and Hayner and looking like he was going to fall any second.

"I'm good, Cloud." Sora responded. "For now, anyway."

"_Fate fell short this time. Your smile fades in the summer._" Axel was clearly bored because he was singing.

"Axel, why are you singing?" Zack looked incredulously at the redhead, who was trying to keep his left foot on the green circle.

"Because I'm waiting for Tifa to call the next colour, Zack." Axel answered. "Let's get a move on, Tifa!"

"Crap!" Kairi yelled as she fell over, causing Riku to flinch slightly.

"Dammit, Kairi!" Riku exclaimed. "How about a little warning, please?"

"How was I meant to know that I was going to fall, Riku?" Kairi asked as she crawled out and sat down next to Seifer.

"You guys look ridiculous, just so you know." Seifer was trying not to laugh.

"Oh, shut up, yo." Reno shot a glare at Seifer.

"Okay, right hand blue." Tifa called.

This time was a bit rougher than the last. Riku was a little shaky from when Kairi had fallen. He, however, was not the one to fall.

"Shit!" Reno swore as he fell, taking Axel down with him.

"Two out in one turn." Cloud smiled. "Okay, things are better now that the twins are off."

"You forgot about me and Sora." Roxas reminded Cloud as Reno and Axel made their way off the mat.

"Oh yeah." Cloud frowned. "Forgot about you two."

"You just _had _to take me out at the same time, didn't you, Reno?" Axel glanced at his twin.

"You know me, yo." Reno grinned.

"Okay, right foot red." Tifa announced.

"God _dammit!_" Sora yelled as he crashed onto the mat.

"Sucks to be you, babe." Riku was still going strong.

"This is taking longer than I thought it would." Zack said.

"Yeah, I gotta get going." Seifer said as he stood.

"Why? Where are you going?" Kairi asked, her blue eyes on Seifer.

"I promised Tetsu and Yumi that I'd play some soccer with them today." Seifer sighed. "As much as I'd like to keep playing, I really need to get going."

"Okay, see ya, then." Kadaj would have waved good-bye, but that would require him to move his arm and avoid hitting Roxas in the stomach.

"I'll see you guys later tonight." Seifer said as he walked off.

"All right, left hand yellow." Tifa called.

Somehow, everyone managed to stay in and not fall over. The next round, however, proved to be more interesting.

"How in the world did you fall over, Demyx?!" Zack demanded. "And you took Roxas down with you!"

"Yeah, thanks for that, Dem." Roxas glared at the sitarist.

"I didn't mean to!" Demyx exclaimed.

"We know, babe." Zexion said, slightly shifting his right arm.

"You doing okay, Kadaj?" Axel asked, since Kadaj looked like he was going to fall.

"I'll probably fall next round." Kadaj said.

And he was right. Kadaj's left foot slipped and he came crashing to the ground, taking Zexion with him.

"I guess it's between Hayner and Riku." Sora said. "This'll be interesting."

"Why?" Roxas asked his brother.

"It's Hayner and Riku!" Demyx exclaimed. "Do we need to explain?"

"Obviously because he doesn't get it." Kairi rolled her eyes.

"Let's get going, huh?" Riku asked.

"Why are you in such a hurry, Riku?" Zexion asked.

"Well, this isn't exactly the most comfortable position, you know." Riku said with complete nonchalance.

"Good point." Zexion said.

"Okay, right hand red." Tifa announced.

Riku and Hayner moved their hands to red circles and waited for the next colour/limb combination. After about three more rounds, neither Hayner nor Riku was out.

"This is ridiculous." Axel sighed in annoyance.

"How are you two still in, yo?" Reno looked at the two in confusion.

"The laws of gravity are working in our favour today?" Riku shrugged. "Laws of gravity my ass." Axel rolled his eyes. "Cloud!"

"Yeah?" Cloud asked in a bored voice.

"They haven't made any illegal moves that would allow them to stay in longer?" Axel wondered.

"Not that I've seen." Cloud said. "How about you, Zack?"

"None." Zack shook his head.

"So get going, Tifa!" Hayner exclaimed. "This is getting rather tiresome."

"Left foot red." Tifa called out.

"Gah!" Hayner yelled as he fell over, his right hand hitting Riku's left leg, causing Riku to fall over as well.

"So, we have no winner, yo?" Reno frowned.

"I guess not." Kairi shook her head.

"Well, that's lame." Roxas and Sora said together.

"So now what?" Kadaj asked.

"We need to clean up, that's what." Tifa said.

"Why?" Axel, Hayner and Riku asked as one.

"Some kids from Never land signed up to use the field in ten minutes." Tifa said, checking her phone.

"I guess that's a good enough reason." Roxas shrugged.

"But how many people will it take to fold up a mat?" Demyx wondered.

"Dem, are you being serious?" Axel's eyes were on the sitarist, hoping that he hadn't been serious.

"I was being sarcastic, Axel." Demyx said as he took one corner of the mat.

"I'd hope so." Zexion said. "If you were serious, I'd wonder what was wrong with you."

"I feel like reading some _FullMetal Alchemist_." Roxas said. "Or watching it."

"New or old?" Riku looked at Roxas like it was a matter of life and death.

"New, definitely." Roxas said.

"Okay, so let's go watch it." Axel said.

"What?" Roxas looked at the redhead in confusion. "You don't watch FMA."

"But I've wanted to." Axel retorted. "You don't mind starting over, do you?"

"No, I don't care." Roxas said.  
"So let's go." Axel said, dragging Roxas off towards their cabin.

Sora turned to the group and asked, "Is it just me or do they seem to be acting strangely?"

"More and more all the time." Reno said, his blue-grey eyes on his brother as the latter walked off.

* * *

"Could it get any more boring in here?"

Axel looked up from his computer to see Roxas staring at him, his DS abandoned next to him on the bed.

"Roxas, are you feeling okay?" Axel looked curiously at the keyboardist.

"What makes you say that?" Roxas frowned.

"You aren't playing video games." Axel smiled, causing the butterflies to erupt in Roxas' stomach.

"I'm just bored." Roxas sighed. "Time for music."

"That's the spirit." Axel laughed. "What band?"

"I'm putting my iPod on shuffle and seeing what it wants me to listen to." Roxas said.

"Okay, if you say so." Axel pulled out his alizarin DS Lite and started to play _Hotel Dusk: Room 215_.

The cabin was relatively silent, the only sound coming from Roxas' iPod and Axel's DS stylus tapping the touch screen. A few minutes passed before a certain song came across Roxas' iPod and the blonde got an idea.

"Hey Axel, can I ask you something?" Roxas asked hesitantly, the ocean eyes locking onto the peridot ones.

"Yeah?" Axel's eyes found Roxas'.

"I want you to dance with me." Roxas said.

"You want me to _what_?!" Axel's voice was full of surprise and confusion.

"There's this song I want to dance to, but no one's ever said they would." Roxas said.

"You mean like slow dance?" Axel asked. "Like we did at the dance?"

"Yeah." Roxas admitted, his cheeks turning slightly pink before quickly adding, "It's okay if you don't want to. I was just-"

"I don't care." Axel said, stopping Roxas midsentence.

"You don't?" Roxas was clearly surprised by Axel's response.

"We just need to go where no one can see us." Axel said.

"How about the woods?" Roxas suggested.

"Sounds good to me." Axel said. "I'll bring my speakers, then?"

"Yeah." Roxas nodded, grabbing his iPod as he followed Axel out to the woods.

The night air was calm and the moon above them sent little rays of light that pierced through the darkness. The darkness above them was filled with stars scattered about, their light almost as bright as that of the moon.

"So what's this song, Roxas?" Axel asked.

"You'll find out." Roxas smiled slightly.

Axel took Roxas' iPod and plugged it into the speaker before hitting play. After walking back to Roxas, Axel wrapped his arm around Roxas' waist, since the blonde was so much smaller than he was.

A few seconds later, some guitar chords started while the main melody was whistled for a few seconds before the vocals started.

"_Patience_?" Axel looked down at Roxas.

"Mm-hmm." Roxas nodded as they started to sway back and forth to the music.

"I remember listening to this with Larxene." Axel mused, turning slightly.

"Yeah?" Roxas looked up at the redhead.

"She hates it." Axel explained.

"And you like it because it's GNR?" Roxas smiled.

"Well, it's weird listening to a band when the lead singer has my name, but sure." Axel smiled back. "I like the melody, too."

A few minutes went by and neither Roxas nor Axel said anything. They simply danced slowly to the music, everything else around them vanishing.

"Hey, Roxas?" Axel suddenly asked a few minutes later.

"Yeah?" Roxas asked.

After hesitating for a few seconds, Axel said, "Never mind. It's nothing."

"You're sure?" Roxas frowned, sensing that Axel was acting differently.

"It's nothing." Axel repeated before changing the subject. "You sure picked a good spot. No one's here."

"That's for sure." Roxas nodded.

They weren't entirely correct. Someone had heard the music and had gone to the woods to investigate. Reno's eyes were on his twin and the blonde as he tried to figure out why they were dancing alone in the woods.

**Cliffy ending! I've been waiting to write that last scene for months! And of course Reno just HAS to see them. I really hope this makes up for my not updating. I'm off for the summer, so I hope I'll have something up by next month. For all of my ECHO fans, I am going to start working on the next chapter. It's not on hiatus! I just got a really bad writer's block and couldn't write it. But I'm hoping that'll end soon. Reviews equal love! Xero out.**

**Next chapter: conversations with Vexen and Marluxia get interesting while Kadaj and Reno have their own discussions. **


	21. The Way We Are

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything mentioned. It should be a bit obvious by now, huh?**

**Hey! Zephyr here! And I'm alive! I just finished this a few hours ago. Sorry for the long delay. This might be a kind of filler chapter, but I think it has important stuff in it. So without further ado, let the deadly tale begin!**

"They were doing _what_?"

Kadaj had been reading some manga when Reno walked into the cabin, looking rather confused indeed. The silver-haired teen had wondered where Reno had gone off to and when he found out, he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Roxas and Axel were dancing in the woods." Reno repeated slowly, as if he was talking to a toddler.

"Now what kind of dancing are we talking about?" Kadaj closed his manga, his eyes on Reno. "Break dancing?"

"Slow dancing." Reno said seriously.

"Your brother and Roxas?" Kadaj's eyes showed his confusion.

"My brother and Roxas." Reno repeated.

"Wow." Kadaj leaned back against the wall. "Think there's something they're not telling us?"

"Well, we know that Roxas is into guys, yo." Reno replied.

"What about Axel?" Kadaj's voice revealed how serious he was.

"What, Axel being gay?" Reno laughed. "Kadaj, I think he'd tell me if he was into guys, yo."

"Think about it, Reno. Axel's been acting strangely ever since we got here." Kadaj explained. "Don't you think there's _some_thing going on?"

"There might be, but I think Axel would tell me if it was anything serious." Reno replied. "Like him being gay, yo."

"Okay, if you say so." Kadaj said slowly.

"Why, did he say something to you?" Reno quickly asked the silver-haired teen.

"Nothing." Kadaj shook his head. "But I _do _think he's hiding something from us."

"I completely agree, yo." Reno nodded, a worried look coming across his eyes.

* * *

Roxas woke up the next morning when he heard the sounds of a guitar, which meant that Axel was probably awake. And indeed, when he looked over to Axel's bed, the blonde saw that the resident guitarist was softly playing something on his guitar.

His headphones were in his ears, so Axel was completely enveloped in the music that he was listening to. It was _Phantom Rider_, a song that Roxas knew from Sora. Sora was the big Tokio Hotel fan, so Roxas had been forced to learn some of the songs on the keyboard.

He was singing, too. Not so softly that he couldn't be heard, but not so loudly that he was creating a disturbance. Axel had found that perfect volume that was so hard to come across.

"_Now I'm here. No more fears. Angel, don't you cry. I'll meet you-"_

"_-on the other side_." Roxas joined in to finish the sentence and continued to, "_Goodbye. Into the night like a phantom rider_."

Axel had stopped playing, his peridot eyes on Roxas, who had a shy smile on his face, a blush starting to form across his cheeks.

"I didn't think you liked Tokio Hotel, Roxas." Axel asked, resting his headphones around his neck.

"Sora listens to them a lot, so I end up listening to them more often than I'd like." Roxas explained. "I like that one, though."

"So do I." Axel said nervously as he rested Sadie against the wall. "Did I wake you up?"

"Yeah, but that's okay." Roxas nodded. "I should be up, anyway."

"Okay, if you say so." Roxas hesitated before saying, "Hey, Axel?"

"Hmm?" Axel's eyes found Roxas'.

"Thanks for dancing last night." Roxas said. "Not many straight guys would want to dance with another guy in the woods in the dark."

"Well, I already danced with you before, remember?" Axel said as he pulled a stick of eyeliner out of his backpack.

"Yeah, but that was only because- Axel, is that _eyeliner_?" Roxas stopped midsentence as Axel used his phone as a makeshift mirror.

"No, it's a Sharpie." Axel always had a sarcastic comment for every situation.

"Why the hell are you using eyeliner?" Roxas raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Well, apparently girls like guys who wear eyeliner." Axel shrugged.

"Some guys do, too." Roxas tried to sound nonchalant.

"And would you be among those guys, Roxas?" Axel smiled.

"Yeah." Roxas blushed furiously. "And you look pretty good, too."

"Why, thank you, Roxas." Axel laughed.

"I meant with eyeliner, Axel." Roxas tried to glare at the redhead, but couldn't. "Are you trying to impress her?"

"Her?" Axel frowned as he finished his right eye and moved on to his left.

"The girl you like." Roxas clarified.

"Yeah." Axel nodded slowly.

"Oh." Roxas said, his voice sounding dejected.

"What's wrong?" Axel asked, noticing that something was wrong.

"It's nothing." Roxas tried to change the subject by saying, "Looks good, Axel."

"Thanks." Axel nodded as he threw the eyeliner in his backpack. "I think it brings out the tattoos quite nicely."

"I can't believe those didn't hurt." Roxas gestured to the teardrop tattoos beneath Axel's peridot eyes.

"Didn't hurt a bit, actually." Axel said, sitting down on his bed.

"Did your mom know you were getting those?" Roxas asked.

"Nope." Axel shook his head.

"I bet she was happy." Roxas' voice was full of sarcasm.

"I was grounded for a few months." Axel replied, picking up Sadie.

"I can't imagine why." Roxas laughed.

"I can't either." Axel's face was serious, but Roxas knew he was being sarcastic.

* * *

"Vexen, something weird's going on."

Marluxia and Vexen sat alone in the cabin they shared with Reno and Kadaj. Vexen was working on his Microbiology homework while Marluxia read _Jane Eyre _for his English class.

"What do you mean?" Vexen's eyes looked up at his boyfriend.

"Everyone's acting strangely." Marluxia marked his place in his book before closing it.

"Everyone meaning whom?" Vexen asked again.

"Well, Roxas and Axel are getting along, which I still don't believe is normal." Marluxia started.

"True." Vexen said.

"And Seifer and Hayner keep flirting with each other, which is really weird for them." Marluxia continued.

"True." Vexen said again.

"And now Kadaj and Reno are acting weird." Marluxia finished. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed."

"They live with us." Vexen stated. "I'd have to be blind to not see it."

"So what's going on?" Marluxia asked.

"I have no idea, Marluxia." Vexen rolled his eyes. "I expect everyone's falling in love with each other."

"Like Xigbar and Saïx?" Marluxia asked.

"Xigbar's never going to be with anyone and you know that." Vexen said simply. "He's too much of a creeper to ever get a boyfriend."

"Thanks goodness." Marluxia shivered slightly at the very idea of Xigbar with a boyfriend.

"Why, does that bother you, Marluxia?" Vexen's eyes were on Marluxia.

"Well, I pity the poor soul who goes on a date with the infamous Xigbar." Marluxia explained.

"That's very true." Vexen said. "You know, I thought I saw Zexion looking at him during practice a few days ago."

"Zexion?" Marluxia exclaimed, looking horrified.

"Exactly." Vexen offered a rare smile.

"But Zexion has Demyx, Vexen!" Marluxia pointed out.

"I know." Vexen said. "No, it wasn't Zexion."

"That sounds more accurate." Marluxia looked relieved.

"It was Pence." Vexen clarified.

At this, Marluxia simply looked shocked. His eyes were as wide as dinner plates and he was clearly surprised.

"_Pence_?" Marluxia exclaimed. "Really, Vexen?"

"It certainly looked like it to me." Vexen shrugged.

"You must be mistaken." Marluxia shook his head. "Pence would _never_ be interested in Xigbar."

"Perhaps I was, but that's what it looked like to me." Vexen said.  
"Vexen, you know you can see things wrong." Marluxia said, his eyes on Vexen.

Vexen sighed and said, "I suppose so."

* * *

"What are you working on?"

Axel looked up from his computer and found Roxas staring at him, the blue eyes curious.

"Editing my paper." Axel said before turning back to his computer.

Roxas' eyes remained locked on to the guitarist. Things like this never happened.

"I'm sorry, what?" Roxas pretended not to hear. "I think you just said that you were editing your paper."

"Yeah, I am." Axel nodded.

Roxas stared at Axel for a few seconds before saying, "Who are you and what have you done with Axel?"

"Um, I'm right here, Roxas?" Axel was clearly confused. "Why, am I doing something weird?"

"It's just that you never edit things over again, that's all." Roxas said.

"Well, I realized that there was something that I wanted to add, but I forgot to put it in." Axel said. "So once I added it, I figured I should go back and check everything over again."

"Taking a leaf out of Vincent's book, huh?" Roxas smiled.

"What about my book?"

Roxas and Axel turned around and found Vincent standing behind them. His crimson eyes went back and forth between the drummer and the pianist as if they were plotting something.

"Axel's going back and editing stuff again." Roxas explained as Vincent went over to his bed and pulled out his math textbook. "I just meant that it's something that you would do."

"I suppose so." Vincent shrugged.

"What are you working on?" Axel frowned as he pulled out his DS Lite and started playing _Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings_.

"Trigonometry homework." Vincent replied. "It is quite tedious."

"More power to you for taking Trig." Axel said. "There's no way I could do it."

"I take it you finished your German homework?" Roxas asked.

"Yes and I was helping Yuna with her Italian homework." Vincent said as he punched some numbers into a calculator.

"I thought Yuna was taking Russian?" Roxas frowned.

"No, that's Rikku." Axel shook his head. "She's taking Russian and Norwegian."

"Sounds complicated." Roxas said.

The cabin doors opened and Reno walked inside holding a copy of _The Kindaichi Case Files: Smoke and Mirrors_ in his hand.

"What's up, Reno?" Axel asked his twin.

"I need to get out of the cabin." Reno said as he sat down on Demyx's bed. "Why?" Roxas wondered as he started to read the first volume of _Kuroshitsuji. _

"Vexen and Marluxia are getting too romancy for my liking, yo." Reno shuddered.

"I can't say I blame you for coming over here, then." Axel said. "We all know how loud Marluxia can be."

"So how are you, Vincent?" Reno asked the red-eyed teen.

"I am very well, Reno." Vincent answered. "And yourself?"

"All things considered, I'm quite well, yo." Reno replied, mimicking Vincent's bizarre speech.

"Hey, has anyone seen Dem and Zex lately?" Roxas asked the group at large.

"I saw Zexion working on his English paper with Saïx." Axel answered as he switched the game in his DS for _Again: The Eye of Providence. _

"He's probably trying to get away from Demyx for a bit, yo." Reno nodded.

"Why would he do that?" Vincent mused as he wrote a few numbers down on a sheet of paper.

"Because Demyx just got the new Pokémon game." Reno explained. "He's been playing it nonstop for a while and he won't shut up about it."

"Which one did he get?" Axel wondered. "I got _SoulSilver_ before we got here."

"I think he got _HeartGold_." Reno replied.

"Awesome." Axel grinned. "Maybe Dem would want to trade some Pokémon."

"I have no comment." Roxas shook his head. "Oh, shit!"

"What's wrong?" Vincent frowned as Roxas suddenly jumped off his bed and scrambled to find his backpack.

"I forgot I have to read three chapters in _The Picture of Dorian Gray_!" Roxas exclaimed.

"It's such an interesting book!" Vincent exclaimed. "How could you forget?"

"My mind's been on other things lately, Vincent." Roxas found his book and hopped back on the bed and started to read.

"I thought you finished that already?" Axel frowned.

"I'm not in your class, remember, Axel?" Roxas told him as his fingers toyed around with the paper bookmark.

"Oh yeah." Axel said. "I forgot about that."

* * *

"So what do you want to do, Riku?"

Riku looked up from his book and found Sora looking at him, the cerulean eyes looking slightly confused.

"What's wrong, Sora?" Riku frowned.

"Why would you think something's wrong?" Sora responded with a question.

"Your eyes are telling me something's wrong." Riku marked his place and closed his book. "So what's going on?"

"I just wanted to know if you wanted to do something tonight." Sora asked, his fingers occupied as he twisted a pen apart.

"I'm busy this afternoon, Sora." Riku said.

"With what?" Sora was clearly surprised by this response. "What are you doing?"

"I told Zack and Cloud I'd help them study for our Calculus test." Riku said. "We're meeting in half an hour."

"But what about after that?" Sora wondered.

"I'm helping Selphie analyze a play for her English class." Riku replied. "And after that I'm working on a timeline of medieval Europe with Yazoo and Xigbar."

"So you're busy all day today." Sora said dejectedly.

"Sorry, Sora." Riku said. "Maybe we can do something tomorrow?"  
"Yeah, sure." Sora tried to sound optimistic.

Riku checked his phone and said, "I'd better get going. You know how Cloud can get."

"Yeah, I know." Sora rolled his eyes.

"I'll see you around, Sora." Riku gave Sora a quick kiss before heading off.

Sora sat alone in the cabin, his mind racing. Riku had been spending less and less time with him. Sora had been quite surprised when Riku agreed to play Twister with him, but when the game ended, Riku was off, claiming to be doing something with someone else. Riku was acting strangely and Sora was starting to get worried.

**For the record, "The Picture of Dorian Gray" is AMAZING! Go read it. Like, right now. ^_^ And I think I'm writing Vincent like I would write Spock from Star Trek. O.o**

**Anyway, this will probably be my last update for a while. I go back to college in a week, so I'll be really busy. I'll try my best to update, though. Fear not! I won't let this story die. Reviews equal love!**

**Next chapter: Sora in a panic**


	22. In Joy And Sorrow

**If I owned KH, I think I'd have my own series about Roxas and Axel. Just saying.**

**Yo! Zephyr here! And I'm alive! It's amazing! And there are far too many exclamation points thus far. At any rate, I really wanted to get this up sooner, but my sophomore year of college kinda devoured my soul. I still can't believe I'm a junior now. Anyway, I really enjoy this chapter and I hope you guys will, too. Let the deadly tale continue!**

"So are there any plans for the rest of the day?"

Roxas, Hayner and Demyx were at the basketball courts, trying to think of something to do. Demyx was dribbling a soccer ball on his knees, but the other two weren't doing anything very productive.

"I'm doing homework with Seifer later." Hayner answered.

"It seems like you're always doing homework." Demyx observed.

"That's because I usually am, Dem." Hayner said before he turned back to Roxas and asked, "What about you?"

"Probably play video games like usual." Roxas said.

"You need to get out more, Roxas." Hayner said, his eyes on the blonde.

"I socialize, Hayner." Roxas glared at Hayner.

"Not as much as you should." Hayner said. "Why don't you and Axel come play some soccer with us tonight?"

"Why does Axel need to go?" Roxas frowned.

"I figured you'd want him to go with you." Hayner said.

"You _have _been spending a lot of time with him lately." Demyx said. "Not that I'm complaining."

"He's probably sick of being around me, anyway." Roxas said, "I might as well go with you guys."

"Okay!" Demyx was obviously excited.

"I'll come get you when we're getting started." Hayner said. "We don't know what time it's going to be yet."

"That kinda helps, yeah." Roxas smiled.

"Well, I'd better get going." Hayner sighed before he stood up. "I need to meet up with Seifer soon."

"Have fun with that." Roxas said as he and Demyx stood and made their way back to cabin six.

They were about halfway back when Demyx stopped suddenly in the middle of the path. Roxas looked back at the sitarist, wondering what was going on.

"What's up, Dem?" Roxas frowned.

"I forgot I'm supposed to be meeting some people for a game of poker." Demyx replied. "I'll catch up with you later, okay?"

"Sounds good." Roxas said as Demyx turned to walk in the other direction.

Roxas was on the steps of the cabin before he heard Axel singing again. This time it wasn't a song by a band like Three Days Grace or Nightwish. It was a song that Roxas, or anyone for that matter, would imagine Axel would listen to.

"_I'll be your girl backstage at your show. Velvet ropes and guitars .Yeah, 'cuz you're my rock star in between the sets. Eyeliner and cigarettes."_

Roxas opened the door to find Axel dancing away, which the blonde had come to expect from the drummer. Axel's laptop was on and his iTunes library was the first window on the screen.

"Really Axel?" Roxas had to laugh at Axel's song choice. "Lady Gaga?"

"Hey, I have a few things I want kept secret." Axel said as he stopped dancing. "And I'll have you know that I have quite a bit of pop on my iPod."

"Oh yeah?" Roxas raised an eyebrow as he dragged his keyboard out from under the bed.

"I have some Kesha and Katy Perry." Axel nodded.

"That's not a lot, Axel." Roxas said. "And why is it that whenever I come in here, you're either dancing or singing?"

"Because I do both of those things when no one else is around." Axel clarified.

"You're odd, you know?" Roxas rolled his eyes as he started playing the keyboard.

"I thought that was on the stage?" Axel frowned, gesturing to the keyboard on Roxas' bed.

"It was, but Cid told me that it was going to rain, so he told me to bring it back here." Roxas explained, his fingers slowly moving across the keys.

"What about my drums and amps?" Axel sat down on his bed.

"We got those moved on the bus." Roxas continued. "There's no way we'd be able to fit them in here."

"Good point." Axel said.

The only sound that filled the cabin was the song Roxas was playing. It sounded sad, but still had a hint of hope at the same time.

"What's that?" Axel asked, his peridot eyes on Roxas.

"_Rydia_ from _Final Fantasy IV_." Roxas replied. "I taught myself how to play it once I beat the game when I was twelve."

"Why does it sound so depressing?" Axel asked.

"Because she has a depressing past?" Roxas phrased his response like a question.

"That kinda sucks." Axel said.

The door to the cabin opened and Sora walked in holding his phone. His ocean eyes looked confused as he sat down on Cloud's bed without saying a word. Roxas and Axel exchanged hesitant glances before Axel decided to speak.

"You okay, Sora?"

"Not really." Sora responded.

"What's going on?" Roxas asked.

"Something's wrong with Riku." Sora answered.

"What else is new?" Axel shrugged as he picked up Sadie and started to play _The Carpenter_. "This _is_ Riku we're talking about."

"This isn't the time for that, Axel." Roxas glared at the drummer before turning his attention to his brother. "Has he done something to you, Sora?"

"Nothing." Sora shook his head.

"Then what's the problem?" Axel questioned.

"That he doesn't do anything anymore." Sora said, the sadness obvious in his voice.

"What do you mean?" Roxas asked as he set the keyboard down on his bed and walked over to sit down next to Sora.

"He never wants to hang out anymore. We never spend time together like we used to." Sora explained. "I feel like he's avoiding me."

"Riku wouldn't do that." Axel said quietly.

"I'm not so sure anymore." Sora said. "He used to tell me everything, but I get the feeling that he's not."

"Just talk to him about it, Sora." Roxas suggested.

"I've tried." Sora said. "It doesn't work."

"I think we need an intervention." Axel pointed out.

"I think that'll piss him off." Sora retorted.

"And we really don't want to deal with a pissed of Riku." Axel shrugged.

"What does he do when you try to talk to him about it?" Roxas asked his brother.

"He just changes the subject and says that he needs to go somewhere." Sora answered.

"I'll try talking to him, Sora." Roxas assured him. "Maybe we can get him to open up."

"I doubt it." Sora shook his head.

"Sora, there's something you're not telling me, isn't there?" Roxas asked.

"A bit, yeah." Sora nodded.

"Well, what is it?" Axel asked.

"I think he's cheating on me." Sora nodded. "That's the only logical explanation for the way he's acting."

"I don't think Riku would ever cheat on you, Sora." Roxas said. "He loves you too much for that."

"If he loves me so much, then why the hell has he been avoiding me?" Sora looked at his brother.

"Sora, we'll figure out what's wrong with him." Axel said. "Keep trying, okay? I'm sure he'll open up to you at some point."

"Okay…" Sora said as he stood up. "I should get going. I'm meant to be hanging out with Kairi and Tifa right now."

"Yeah, get your mind off of things." Roxas said.

"Sounds like a plan." Sora said while he walked out of the cabin.

"Damn, I don't think I've ever seen him this upset before." Roxas noted.

"Yeah, it's really odd." Axel said. "But I wonder why Riku's acting this way. He's usually not like this."

"That's what we're meant to be finding out, Axel." Roxas shrugged.

* * *

Later that night, Roxas was playing _The World Ends With You_ when his phone vibrated in his pocket, alerting him of a new text message. Once he checked it, he learned that Hayner had gathered a few people on the soccer field to play some soccer.

"I'll be back in a bit, Axel." Roxas said he saved his game.

"Where are you going?" Axel looked up from his copy of _Code Geass_.

"To play soccer with Hayner." Roxas replied. "Didn't I tell you?"

"I don't think so." Axel shook his head. "Well, have fun, anyway. For once you're doing something other than video games."  
"That's enough out of you." Roxas sent Axel a glare before he left the cabin.

When Roxas arrived at the soccer field, he found Kadaj, Reno, Hayner, Cloud, Zack and Seifer kicking a soccer ball around on the grass. When Hayner noticed his presence, he ran over to the blonde and glomped him.

"Geez, Hayner!" Roxas exclaimed. "What got you so excited?"

"Guess what? "Hayner asked.

"What is it?" Roxas asked.

"Seifer asked me out." Hayner grinned.

"What?" Roxas was completely taken aback. "No way!"

"I see you've told him, Hayner." Seifer said.

"So what did you say?" Roxas asked.

"Do you seriously have to ask?" Hayner raised an eyebrow at Roxas.

"I didn't think so." Roxas shook his head. "See, I told you that you could find someone."

"Now we just need to work on finding you a guy." Hayner said as he and Roxas walked over to the rest of the group.

"Maybe we should have Tifa find someone for him." Cloud suggested. "She has a good eye for finding guys."

"But she's lesbian." Roxas pointed.

"Who said that it had to make sense?" Cloud shrugged.  
"So are we going to do anything tonight, yo?" Reno asked.

"Probably not." Hayner shook his head.

"Then why are we all over here?" Zack sighed.

"Because we felt like playing soccer earlier." Roxas pointed out. "Does anyone actually feel like doing anything right now?"

"Not really, yo." Reno shrugged.

"Oh!" Cloud exclaimed suddenly.

"What's wrong, Cloud?" Seifer frowned.

"I just remembered something kinda important." Cloud said, his eyes wide.

"Well?" Hayner demanded. "What is it?"

"I overheard Cid telling Sephiroth that we might be changing songs for the competition." Cloud told everyone.

"Why the hell would he do that?" Roxas asked as he sat down on the grass.

"Apparently Sephiroth wants the band and show choir to have a song together." Cloud said.

"That certainly sounds like Sephiroth." Seifer nodded.

"How did Cid sound about this?" Zack asked. "Did he sound like he was going to go ahead with everything?"

"You know Cid." Reno said. "He won't want to do anything that involves an exorbitant amount of effort, yo."

"But did he say anything right when he was talking to Sephiroth?" Hayner asked. "Did he give some sort of answer?"

"He said that he'd have to give it some thought, but he didn't sound like he was too fond of the idea." Cloud said.

"Maybe we've got nothing to worry about." Roxas thought.

"He could have been humouring Sephiroth with the idea." Zack nodded in agreement. "After all, we don't have the _time _to learn another song."

"Wait, did either of them say anything about the colour guard doing something with the band if we have to learn a new song?" Reno asked.

"I didn't hear anything about the colour guard." Cloud shook his head. "I'd assume that they'd be learning a new routine, since we're learning a new song."

"Then there's no way that this can happen." Hayner shook his head. "There's no way that they can learn a new routine this closely to the competition."

"We'll just have to ask Sephiroth about this." Roxas said.

"Or Cid himself." Reno said. "We're more likely to get an answer from Cid than Sephiroth, yo."

"That's a good point." Seifer said.

Suddenly, Roxas' cell phone went off. He had a new text from Axel, telling him to go back to the cabin.

"Hey, I hate to cut things short, but I've got to go." Roxas said as he stood.

"What's going on?" Reno asked.

"Your brother just texted, saying that I'm meant to go back to the cabin for something." Roxas said. "And I think I know what it's about…"

"What is it?" Seifer asked. "Has something happened?"

"I'll tell you guys later." Roxas said as he walked off.

"What do you think that was about?" Hayner asked.

"How the hell are we supposed to know?" Cloud questioned.

"Maybe it has something to do with Axel, yo." Reno said.

"I heard Roxas saying something about Sora earlier." Zack said as he dribbled the soccer ball between his feet. "Maybe it's about Sora."

"But why would Axel be texting about Sora?" Seifer questioned.

"I dunno!" Zack exclaimed. "That's just the first thing I thought of."

"I think Roxas will tell us what it is." Hayner said. "If it really is about Sora, he'll want to make sure that Sora's okay with it first."

Roxas opened the door to the cabin and found Axel sitting on his bed, his nearby laptop showing a page from a chapter of _Elfen Lied_. This wouldn't have surprised Roxas save for the fact that he was talking to Riku and Sora, who were sitting on Demyx's bed.

"What's going on here?" Roxas frowned as he sat down on his own bed.

"Riku and Sora were just talking out their problems." Axel said.

"Is everything okay?" Roxas' eyes moved from Sora to Riku.

"Just a failure in communication." Sora said.

"You're sure that's all it is?" Roxas was watching Riku now.

"I thought that Riku was making excuses not to see me because he was seeing someone else." Sora explained.

"Sora, in all the time we've been dating, have you ever suspected that I'd been cheating on you?" Riku asked, his eyes on Sora.

"No, but that doesn't mean that you couldn't start now." Sora said.

"I have absolutely no intention of doing anything like that, Sora." Riku promised.

"So we're all okay?" Axel asked Sora and Riku. "We don't want anything like this to happen in the future, now do we?"

"I know I don't." Sora shook his head.

"That being said, we should head back, Sora." Riku said as he stood up from the bed. "The guys are going to wonder where we are."

"That's a good point." Sora made his way to the door. "We'll see you guys tomorrow, then?"

"Sounds like a plan." Roxas nodded as Riku and Sora left.

"Well, at least that problem's sorted out." Axel said.

"Axel the relationship counsellor." Roxas grinned as he pulled out his keyboard and set it up on his bed.

"Oh, please." Axel rolled his eyes. "It was blatantly obvious what their problem was."

"If you say so." Roxas said as he started to play _Bright Crystal._

"I've seen things like this ruin lots of relationships." Axel went on. "I didn't want it to ruin Sora and Riku's."

"That's good." Roxas wasn't really paying attention to Axel anymore.

"Are you even listening to me, Roxas?" Axel somehow found Roxas' behaviour amusing.

"Of course I am." Roxas said distractedly.

"Oh yeah?" Axel walked over to Roxas and pulled his hands away from the keyboard. "Then what did I say?"

"What are you doing?" Roxas said as his cheeks turned a faint shade of pink.

"Making sure that you aren't getting distracted." Axel said as he released Roxas' hands. "What are you playing, anyway?"

"_Bright Crystal_ from _Hotel Dusk: Room 215_." Roxas replied as his fingers danced across the keyboard.

"You and your video game soundtracks." Axel laughed. "Though the soundtrack for _Hotel Dusk_ is pretty interesting."

"Hey, game soundtracks are usually pretty good!" Roxas said in an agitated manner. "I love the music from _Again: The Eye of Providence_.

"I'm surprised you don't have that on your iPod yet." Axel said as he went back to his bed and continued reading _Elfen Lied_.  
"I can't find it anywhere." Roxas shook his head.

"Then how do you know that it's good music?" Axel's peridot eyes found Roxas' cerulean ones.

"Because I hear it in the game, silly." Roxas said as he changed songs to _Secrets_.

"Is this from the same game?" Axel was now looking at his laptop screen.

"Yep." Roxas nodded. "I've been trying to play this for ages and I think I've finally got it."

"Well, that's good, isn't it?" Axel frowned.

"Oh, hell yes." Roxas nodded.

"Roxas, can I ask you something serious?" Axel asked suddenly.

"Absolutely not." Roxas joked before he said, "Of course, Axel. What's going on?"

"You haven't noticed Kadaj and Reno acting strangely around each other?" Axel asked.

"I'm glad I'm not the only one who noticed it." Roxas said as he stopped playing the keyboard. "It seems to me that Kadaj is acting stranger, though."

"In what way?" Axel frowned.

"I mean, Reno seems to be acting strangely around Kadaj, but Kadaj seems like he wants to have nothing to do with Reno." Roxas explained. "Every time Reno tries to talk to him about something, Kadaj makes up some excuse to get away from him."

"I haven't noticed that." Axel said, eyebrows furrowed in frustration.

"He hasn't said anything to you about it?" Roxas asked. "I mean, you're best friends and everything."

"He hasn't mentioned anything." Axel shook his head. "Come to think of it, Kadaj has been avoiding me lately, as well."

"I wonder why he'd do that." Roxas frowned. "You and Reno haven't done anything to piss him off, have you?"

"I don't think so." Axel shook his head again. "Besides, Kadaj always tells me when I've pissed him off and he hasn't said anything to me about something I've done."

"Well, I wonder why he's acting strangely." Roxas said. "You want me to ask Kadaj and you ask Reno? Maybe we can find out something?"

"I'll ask them." Axel said. "I don't want to have you get involved in something that you don't need to be."

**That's it for now. I'm hoping that I'll have a chapter up soon, but I know that probably won't happen. Ah well. Reviews equal love!**

**Next chapter: Axel confronts Kadaj about his behaviour.  
**


	23. Painting Flowers

**Disclaimer: I don't own KH. There's no way I can afford the rights to that.**

**Zephyr here. College hasn't devoured my soul yet. I know it's been a while since I updated, but I had a VERY busy summer. And I've been writing a fair amount of Code Geass fanfics to keep me busy. As a bit of a side note, I'm sure it's obvious that the chapter titles are all songs that I like or at least know. The same thing goes for the songs that are actually in the story. My question is how many of you lovely readers actually look up the songs that I mention? I know I usually do this when I encounter music in fanfics, but I'm curious as to how many of my readers do the same. Just drop me a line or a review (those would be nice anyway) with your answer. That being said, let the deadly tale continue!**

The next few days were extremely uneventful. The most exciting thing that happened was that Cloud and Zack had somehow managed to get Vexen's bari-sax up on the roof of one of the cabins. Even though Cid couldn't stand Vexen, he still had to discipline Zack and Cloud.

Despite the boredom in the camp, Roxas and Axel noticed Reno and Kadaj acting differently again. Kadaj would do anything to avoid being with Reno and Axel, but Reno kept trying to get closer to him.

Rehearsals commenced on the sixteenth day with the band playing _Nineveh_ by E.S. Posthumus on the practice field. It sounded particularly strange, as Axel and Zack had taken over the violin parts with their guitars. Roxas was playing the vocal parts on his keyboard, as well as the parts in the beginning of the song.

The rest of the band was often bored during this song. It was a good song for the percussion and Zack and Axel, but there were few other instruments besides violins and drums in the original song, leaving a majority of the band with three minutes and forty-two seconds of time to kill.

"I don't see why we still play it." Loz complained when the song was over.

"Because it's a good warm-up for the percussion." Cid replied.

"And I get to use my cymbals." Yuffie proclaimed happily.

"I'm sure that's not the main reason, Yuffie." Xigbar said, lightly tossing his trumpet in the air.

"I won't be throwing that in the air if I were you, Xigbar." Cid's said.

"Why's that, Cid?" Xigbar asked.

"Because it'll be a pain if you break it." Cid said. "There are no other extra trumpets available. Or other instruments, for that matter."

"Oh geez." Axel stopped playing _Map of the Problematique_ on his guitar. "That means that I can't throw my guitar off the roof, then."

"No, Axel, you can't." Cid shook his head.

"So are we almost done , Cid?" Rikku asked from the flute section.

"What do you have to do that's more important than rehearsal, Rikku?" Cid asked skeptically.

"Well, I'd like to go to bed at a decent hour for once." Rikku said with a yawn, as if this would further emphasize her point.

"That's your own damn fault!" Cid shouted across the field.

"Yeah, Rikku." Marluxia said from where he stood next to the clarinets. "If you didn't stay up until four in the morning watching _High School Musical,_ you wouldn't be having this problem, now would you?"

"Enough arguing!" Cid yelled. "We will play _The Thirteenth Struggle,_ then we will end rehearsal."

"I can live with that." Axel nodded.

"You're just saying that because it's your favorite song." Cloud looked over towards the redhead.

"Of course." Axel grinned.

Yuffie's cymbal crash started the song, after which Axel followed with some quick notes on the xylophone and Xigbar and Vincent following behind on their trumpets. Yazoo joined in on his French horn a few seconds later while Cloud and Yuffie drummed away as Axel rushed back and forth between the drums and the xylophone.

After about thirty seconds or so, Roxas took over the main melody on the keyboard before relinquishing it to Zack for his guitar bit before he, in turn, passed it on to Yuna and the rest of the flutes for a while. Vexen's bari-sax sounded quite nicely with Loz's baritone providing the bass, though Kadaj and Sora's alto and tenor saxes sounded a bit strange among the fray.

Soon enough, the song ended, leaving the grassy playing field silent.

"How bad did we sound?" Kadaj asked.

"You guys sounded fine." Lucrecia said from the colour guard section. "Pence just needs to learn to watch where he's going."

"It's not my fault that Leon kept running into me." Pence snapped.

"That's only because Xion was stepping on my foot!" Leon exclaimed.

"Geez, and we thought we had issues." Zack muttered under his breath.

"You guys need to get your routines worked out." Cid said. "The band is dismissed."

"But we aren't?" Larxene raised an eyebrow.

"You guys sound like you need extra practice." Cid said.

"Let's start cleaning up." Paine was already dashing over to the cases so she could put her clarinet away.

"What's the rush, Paine?" Sora asked as he followed the majority of the band over to their cases. "We've got nothing better to do for the majority of the day."

"Oh, and don't forget about practice tonight." Cid said, as if he had heard Sora's comment.

"Say what?" Reno and Axel said together.

"The second rehearsal starts at seven tonight." Cid said. "Everyone be here or I'll grab you and bring you back here. Got it?"

"Memorized." Axel said sadly.

"Axel, hurry up and put your guitar away and help put away the drums." Yuffie said.

"I'm going, I'm going." Axel strummed a few chords of _Shadows of the Night _as he walked off.

"Pat Benetar?" Roxas frowned as he grabbed a few mallets from Cloud. "Seriously, Axel?"

"Got a problem with it?" Axel raised an eyebrow as he gently placed Sadie in the case.

"No, I'm just surprised." Roxas said.

"Stop being surprised and help!" Cloud snapped.

"Jesus, Cloud!" Roxas exclaimed. "I needed to put my keyboard away first."

"Oh, right." Cloud said. "Sorry about that. I keep forgetting you put yours away, too."

From across the field, Zexion could be heard yelling at Demyx. "Demyx, your sitar cannot be used as a catapult!"

"You know, I should be used to this by now, considering he lives in the same cabin as us, but I still find his behaviour very strange." Cloud said.

"It is Demyx." Vincent suddenly appeared from nowhere. "It is impossible to become accustomed to him."

"Vincent, where the hell did you materialize from?" Roxas asked as he helped move a timpani across the platform.

"I simply wanted to see if you required assistance in moving the instruments." Vincent said.

"I think we've got it covered." Yuffie said. "Thanks, though."

"I will be studying with Lucrecia if you require my presence later tonight." Vincent said before walking off of the platform.

"I wonder if that's what they're really doing." Zack had jumped on the platform and was now moving Axel's snare drum.

"Is it bad that I never really miss him when he isn't in the cabin?" Roxas asked.

"No, because I feel the same way." Axel said. "Shall we get going?"

"Is there anything else we need to do?" Roxas asked. "Do you have Sadie?"

"Got her right here." Axel gestured to the coffin-esque case containing his guitar.

"So let's get going back to the cabin." Cloud said. "Mind if I walk with you guys?"

"Never." Roxas grinned.

When the three arrived at cabin six, they found Demyx sprawled out on his bed drawing pictures of flowers on a piece of paper.

"Demyx, how did you manage to get here so fast?" Roxas raised an eyebrow.

"I have super-speed!" Demyx proclaimed.

"Yeah, that answers a lot." Cloud raised an eyebrow.

"Why are you drawing flowers again?" Axel frowned as he looked at the piece of paper.

"Because I like flowers." Demyx nodded happily.

"What are you, three?" Roxas asked as he slid his keyboard under his bed. "Only little kids like drawing such bad things."

"My drawings aren't bad!" Demyx exclaimed.

"Sure, Dem." Cloud rolled his eyes as he pulled out his PSP. "Whatever you say."

"You know, I think I should go have a talk with Kadaj." Axel said.

"About what?" Roxas frowned.

"Remember what we were talking about last night?" Axel's peridot eyes were on Roxas.

"Oh, right." Roxas nodded. "Good luck. Let me know how it goes."

"Got it memorised." Axel said as he left.

"What are you two going on about?" Cloud put down his PSP, his blue eyes on Roxas.

"Just something between Kadaj and Reno." Roxas shook his head as he pulled out his laptop. "Nothing too serious."

"Is everything okay?" Cloud frowned.

"That's what we're trying to figure out." Roxas shrugged. "Have you noticed them acting strangely lately?"

"Just a bit." Cloud nodded. "Like how Kadaj looks like he's trying to avoid Reno?"

"Yeah, that's it." Roxas nodded. "We just wanted to know why."

"So Axel's going to ask Reno about it?" Cloud assumed.

"No, he's asking Kadaj." Roxas shook his head.

"Wait, why Kadaj?" Cloud raised an eyebrow. "He's more likely to get a straight answer from Reno."

"Not this time." Roxas said. "Axel thinks that Reno's going to clam up about this one, so he's going straight to Kadaj."

"Oh, I see." Cloud nodded. "Well, I hope everything works out. I don't want another episode of you two again."

"How do you figure?" Roxas frowned.

"Well, you and Axel didn't talk to each other and were fidgeting for a while." Cloud explained. "I don't want Reno and Kadaj to become like that."

"But Kadaj and Reno are friends now." Roxas pointed out. "Axel and I had always hated each other."

"Which brings me to another point." Cloud said, brushing his hair from his eyes.

"Oh?" Roxas raised an eyebrow. "And what's that, Cloud?"

"I still want to know why you and Axel are getting along now." Cloud said.

"Axel said that it would be a good idea if we started to get along." Roxas said.

"Yes, but what do _you _think, Roxas?" Cloud asked. "What's your reasoning?"

Roxas was spared from having to answer by Zack walking into the cabin holding a soccer ball in his hand.

"Hey, Zack." Roxas said.

"You guys up for some soccer?" Zack asked. "Some of the guys from Hollow Bastion want to play against us."

"No, I'm waiting for Axel to come back." Roxas shook his head.

"Where did he go?" Zack frowned.

"To talk to Kadaj about something." Roxas said.

"I'll go with you." Cloud turned off his PSP and set it on his bed.

"That's the spirit, babe." Zack grinned. "See ya later, Roxas."

"Bye, guys." Roxas said as Cloud and Zack left the cabin.

After a few minutes, Roxas went back to his computer and started to watch an episode of _Naruto_. If Axel was successful and Kadaj decided to tell him why he was acting strangely, then he could be gone for a while.

* * *

"So what did you want to talk about?"

Axel's eyes found Kadaj, who was sitting on his bed, his fingers drumming on the screen of his cell phone.

"Well, it's kind of about you and Reno." Axel replied.

"Oh, I see." Kadaj nodded slowly.

"Did you two have some sort of argument?" Axel asked, his periodt eyes showing his seriousness.

"No." Kadaj shook his head.

"Well, then what happened?" Axel frowned in confusion. "He's not acting like himself, but I'd say that your cutting him off is a bit stranger."

Kadaj sighed and said, "If I tell you, you absolutely cannot tell anyone. Especially him."

"Of course." Axel nodded. "Have I ever done something like that?"

"I just need to make sure." Kadaj responded.

"So what is it?" Axel asked.

"Well, I have this crush on him." Kadaj began.

"Okay." Axel couldn't say that he'd been expecting to hear this from Kadaj, but he continued to listen to what he had to say. "So why don't you do something about that?"

"That's the problem." Kadaj said, brushing his silver hair from his eyes.

"And what's that?" Axel asked.

"I used to like you, too." Kadaj answered.

"Oh." Axel said.

"For different reasons, of course." Kadaj said.

"Why didn't you tell either of us about this?" Axel wondered.

"Well, both of you are straight." Kadaj said. "I didn't know if it would matter to you."

Axel ignored Kadaj's first statement and said, "But why does the fact that you once liked me have anything to do with you at least telling Reno how you feel? The two don't seem connected at all in my mind."

"If I were to go out with Kadaj, it would feel really weird for me. I wanted to make sure that I was over you completely before I even thought about telling Reno." Kadaj responded. "And I am, but I'm not sure that he'll want to know."

"As his brother, I can assure you that he'll want to know about this." Axel said. "The three of us have always been close. Something like this shouldn't get in the way of that."

"Yeah, I know." Kadaj nodded.

"So are you going to tell him?" Axel asked.

"Yeah, I guess I should." Kadaj nodded again. "So he at least knows."

"Good." Axel nodded. "So stop being so emo. You'll be as bad as Zexion before you know it."

"I don't think anyone can be that bad, Axel." Kadaj said with a laugh.

"I dunno." Axel frowned. "Roxas can get pretty emo sometimes."

"How's that going for you, anyway?" Kadaj asked.

"How's what going for me?" Axel raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Getting along with Roxas." Kadaj explained. "It's not so bad, is it?"

"Not really." Axel shook his head.

"I knew Reno was doing something right when he told you two to start hanging out." Kadaj smiled.

"And speaking of Roxas, I should start getting back." Axel said as he stood up.

"Missing him already?" Kadaj said mysteriously.

"No, but he'll wonder why I've been gone for so long." Axel said. "And tell Reno, okay?"

"Got it memorised." Kadaj said, using his friend's catchphrase as Axel strolled out of the cabin.

* * *

Roxas hadn't expected Axel to return so soon. He had given up on watching _Naruto_ and was watching an episode of_ Chobits_ when the redhead walked back inside.

"That was quick." Roxas raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Did everything go okay?"

"Yeah, it was fine." Axel nodded.

"So what's the problem?" Roxas paused the anime and focused his eyes on Axel.

"I'm not supposed to tell anyone." Axel shook his head.

"Seriously?" Roxas looked surprised. "You can't even tell me?"

"Kadaj told me not to tell anyone, so I'm not telling anyone." Axel said as he pulled out his DS Lite and started to play _Trace Memory_.

"You're such a kill-joy." Roxas said. "Are you at least allowed to tell me if everything's sorted out?"

"I said everything was fine." Axel said. "Hopefully he'll actually do what I told him to do."

"Knowing Kadaj, that'll be difficult." Roxas said.

"Don't I know it?" Axel rolled his eyes.

"Guess what, guess what?" the door opened and Demyx dashed into the cabin, sitar in hand, looking very excited about something.

"Lexaeus decided to dig a tunnel to the Land of Dragons?" Axel didn't look up from his DS.

"If he did, he stole my idea." Demyx glared at Axel. "But no, that's not it!"

"What is it, Demyx?" Roxas asked dully.

"Apparently Xigbar and Luxord are going on a date tonight." Demyx nodded.

"Hang on." Axel frowned as he paused the game. "Xigbar and Luxord?"

"Xigbar and Luxord." Demyx said.

"Huh." Axel looked mildly surprised. "Didn't see that one coming."

"Where the hell are they going on a date?" Roxas wondered. "There's nowhere around here that's really date worthy."

"I'm just repeating what Zexion said that Hayner said that Seifer said that Marluxia said that Rikku said that Kairi said that-" Demyx rambled off.

"That's okay." Axel cut him short. "I'm sure we really don't care that much."

"Is that all you came in here for, Dem?" Roxas asked.

"And to tell you that Cid said that we're having rehearsal at three instead of seven tonight." Demyx said.

"Damn Cid." Axel hissed. "Why does he constantly have to change the times?"

"Because he's Cid?" Roxas frowned.

"Come on, Roxas." Axel turned off his DS in frustration. "We might as well eat lunch before we have to spend hours on the field."

**Not a whole lot, but it's something. If all goes according to plan, the next few chapters should be good. The only problem is actually writing them. Damn college. *angry fist* The XigLux was included for a reader who requested it many, many months ago, but I could never find a way to fit it in. I can't remember the reader's name, but I'll try to get more of it in the storyline. That's it for this chapter! Don't forget to let me know if you actually listen to the music I mention. Reviews equal love!**

**Next chapter: Does Kadaj actually confess to Reno? And Axel has plans of his own.**


	24. Bittersweet Memories

**Disclaimer: I really don't own KH. There's no way in hell I'd have enough money for that.**

**I'm alive! It's weird to think that I haven't updated this story in years, but I told you guys I'd get it done, right? Sorry this one is so short considering the wait, but I'm planning on finishing this story pretty soon. If my calculations are right, I'm only going to have between two and four chapters left until its over. And I will finish this. I've had a lot of fun writing it, so I'm not planning on abandoning it as of right now. **

**That being said, things are very chaotic in my life right now. I'm a recent college graduate who is struggling to find a job and plan a move up to Maine in the next few months. I know exactly how I want this to end (that hasn't changed since I started this back in high school) but it might take a while to get there.**

**That being said, some of the music is very different. There is a simple explanation for this: my music phases tend to change. Lately, I've been in an industrial/ebm/ aggrotech phase and that's obvious in this chapter. Point is, don't be surprised if you see new bands or things like that.**

**I think that's everything from me. Let's let the deadly tale continue!**

"Does anyone else feel like that was one of the worse rehearsals we've had in a while?"

Roxas looked over to where Axel was standing as the redhead tossed his guitar pic up in the air before catching it. The rest of the band was moving off the practice fields so that the band from Port Royal could set up for their practice time, but the guitarists seemed to be feeling lazier than normal and were leaning against Yuffie's drumset while she dashed around the field chasing after Wakka and Larxene.

"I just wasn't feeling it today." Zack said with a sigh as he watched the action on the field.

"Yeah, I can tell." Cloud from across the platform where he was helping Vexen and Yazoo cart off the amps. "And shouldn't you guys be doing this? You're the ones who need to use them, after all."

"Roxas uses them, too." Axel pointed out.

"Roxas got his off a while ago." Cloud said.

"And my keyboard's packed up and ready to go." Roxas added as he walked over to the drummers.

"Stop being such an over-achiever." Axel stuck his tongue out at the blonde as he stood up and began dismantling the drumset.

"I can't help it." Roxas said with a shrug. "It's one of my qualities."

"It never used to be." Sora said as he climbed onto the platform.

"You know, there are steps for you to use." Cloud said as he carted the wind chimes across the stage.

"Since when do I ever do things the normal way?" Sora asked.

"Never." Roxas answered.

"What do you need, Sora?" Zack asked, assuming that the boy wasn't there for the sake of amusement.

"We were trying to find Reno and Kadaj because we were-" Sora started to say.

"Who's 'we'?" Axel arched an eyebrow.

"Vexen and I." Sora clarified. "We thought we'd get together and work on some of the songs because the saxes seem to be having a harder time with a few of them."

"But Reno plays the clarinet." Cloud pointed out.

"Clarinets and alto saxes use the same notes." Sora said. "We figured that they could share."

"I think I might know what this is about." Axel said as he picked up his guitar and walked over to the case.

"And that would be what?" Sora asked.

"Not supposed to talk about it." Axel said.

"Oh, you can't go and do that!" Sora whined.

"I've been getting the same thing, too." Roxas said.

"You can't say anything?" Zack asked.

"Nope." Axel shook his head. "Not at all."

"Damn you and your ability to keep secrets." Zack rolled his eyes.

"Oh, you know I'll tell you guys when I'm allowed to." Axel said as he snapped the guitar case shut. "I just can't say anything until then."

"Maybe they went off to dinner." Sora mused. "It's getting to be that time of day, isn't it?"

"Kinda sorta, but doesn't Kadaj normally eat pretty late?" Cloud joined the group.

"Maybe he just got hungry early?" Roxas leaned against the case for his keyboard.

"Could be." Zack shrugged. "I did see him running around the soccer field like mad earlier this morning."

"I wonder why he'd be doing that." Axel frowned. "Though we should probably get going."

"Why do you say that?" Roxas wondered.

"Because it looks like Cid is heading over in our direction and he doesn't look happy." Axel clarified, picking up his guitar case and dashing off the platform.

"Yeah, that seems like a good enough reason." Roxas said as he grabbed his keyboard and sprinted after Axel.

* * *

"You know what I think?"

Axel looked up at Roxas, his fingers frozen on the guitar strings, and stared at the blonde situated across the cabin. Several hours had passed since the end of rehersal and the cabin was the quietest it had been all day since night had fallen. Cloud and Demyx were playing a sort of variation of Egyptian Rat Screw with Zack and Zexion and Vincent was doing homework with Lucrecia, so Roxas and Axel had the cabin to themselves for a little while. Roxas had been playing something on his DS when he suddenly paused and looked at Axel, which was rather alarming for the redhead.

"Lots of things, hopefully." Axel said. "But what about in particular?"

"Do you think Reno and Kadaj have a thing for each other?" Roxas asked.

"Why would you say that?" Axel asked curiously.

"Isn't it obvious?" Roxas questioned. "Look at the way that they've been acting towards each other. It makes perfect sense, Axel."

"Yeah, I suppose it does." Axel knew thath he was an excellent liar, so he could tell that Roxas had no idea that he was actually correct in his assumption.

"Fucking hell, you're still not going to tell me, are you?" Roxas sighed in frustration.

"Not telling until Kadaj has given me the go-ahead." Axel grinned and shook his head.

_He really needs to stop looking so hot when he does that, _Roxas thought to himself, but said, "Kadaj is really lucky to have such a loyal friend, then."

"I suppose?" Axel phrased his response like a question. "I've never really thought of myself as being a very loyal person before."

"Well, you are." Roxas said. "Trust me on that."

* * *

"So Kadaj, you never did tell me what you wanted to talk about."

Kadaj looked over at the redhead, who sprawled out on the grass in the middle of the soccer goal-post. The two had decided to play some soccer after dinner, which turned out to last longer than either of the boys had anticipated. Exhausted from playing soccer for the last two and a half hours, they decided to call it quits but rather than return to their respective cabins, they elected to relax in the goal-post, as no one was currently aiming to use them at the present. Kadaj was leaning against the post, practically falling asleep, though he knew that he shouldn't be.

"That's right, I didn't…" Kadaj said slowly. "You sure you want to hear it?"

"Well, I've pretty much got to hear it by now." Reno smirked. "So what's this about, yo?"

"Well…" Kadaj took a deep breath. "You remember when I told you about how I had a thing for Axel?"

"Do you still?" Reno frowned in confusion.

"No, I've gotten over that." Kadaj shook his head.

"Oh, okay." Reno nodded, though he still seemed very confused.

"Yeah." Kadaj nodded as well.

"Was that what you wanted to talk about?" Reno asked.

"Not exactly, but its related to that." Kadaj said.

"So what the fuck is it, yo?" Reno wanted to know.

"I seem to have found myself having similar feelings for you." Kadaj said, knowing that there was no easy way to say it.

"Oh, I see." Reno said, surprised by this new-found information.

"Yeah, I know." Kadaj said, feeling his face growing hot despite the chill of the night air. "And I know that things are probably going to be awkward between us now and-"

"Why would they be awkward, yo?" Reno asked, moving closet to Kadaj.

"Well, you don't exactly have these feelings for me, do you?" Kadaj asked.

"You don't know that, yo." Reno said, brushing his hair out of his eyes.

"I suppose." Kadaj sighed. "Back up a minute…do you mean to tell me that you-"

"For a little while, yeah." Reno nodded, leaning forward and pressing his lips to Kadaj's for a few short seconds.

Kadaj was too stunned to say anything for a few moments, but he eventually said, "Well, I'm glad we've sorted that one out."

Reno laughed and said, "Yeah, I feel a little better about it now, yo."

"I guess I'll have to tell Axel now." Kadaj said.

"Axel?" Reno frowned at the mention of his brother's name.

"I've been talking to him about it." Kadaj explained. "He's been helping me decide if I should say anything or not."

"Well, I'm glad you did." Reno said. "Otherwise, we might not be doing this, yo."

* * *

Unlike most band members, Roxas always had something interesting to wake up to in the mornings: Axel's music. Some days, Axel would play softer bands (in his terms) like Breaking Benjamin, L'Ame Immortelle or Within Temptation. Other days, he preferred to wake up the cabin with louder music like Rammstein, Dir en Grey, or Nightwish. And then there were other days (like today) where Axel woke up everyone would bands that most would consider to be noise like Combichrist, Nachtmahr, or Grendel.

Axel had apparently decided the precious night that he wanted to be woken up by music of the noise genre (as Roxas so often called it). His alarm was some song by Angelspit (whom Axel preferred to say belonged to the electro-industrial genre; Roxas still considered them noise) and it went on for quite a while. Roxas was contemplating throwing his pillow across the room to wake up Axel so that his alarm would turn off, but just as Roxas was taking aim, the drummer woke up and silenced his alarm.

"It's about fucking time." Apparently the loud music had woken up Cloud as well. The blonde was glaring at Axel from across the room.

"I was having a rather lovely dream." Axel said as he stretched his arms in front of him.

"Must've been nice." Roxas rolled his eyes. "We had to endure that God-awful music for a lot longer than normal."

"_Wreak Havoc _by Angelspit is not God-awful!" Axel exclaimed. "It happens to be my favourite by them."

"Well, I'm glad you like them because you must be the only person on the planet who does." Cloud rolled over and buried his head under the covers.

"Oh, I've got a text from Kadaj." Axel said as he scrolled through the messages on his phone.

"Is that so?" Roxas sat up and yawned.

"Oooh, I can reveal the secret now." Axel grinned, knowing that this would get Roxas' attention.

"Seriously?" Roxas sat upright so fast that his head started to spin. "Well? What is it?"

"Reno and Kadaj are apparently going out now." Axel said as he tapped some buttons on his phone.

"Ah, I thought that might be it." Cloud said while he threw his pillow at Vincent to wake up the other boy. "They've been acting like it for days."

"And you knew about this?" Roxas asked, eyes on the redhead.

"Well, Kadaj told me his feelings a few days ago." Axel responded with a shrug. "I just wasn't meant to tell you guys."

"Roxas, wake up Demyx." Cloud commanded as he pulled on a t-shirt.

"Why me?" Roxas demanded.

"Because he's next to you." Cloud failed to stifle a yawn. "And because I don't feel like doing it."

"I've got it." Axel said with a rather devious grin. "Give me a second."

"Okay?" Roxas looked at Cloud in confusion while Axel tapped away on his phone.

"Okay, put this up on full and hit play next to his ear." Axel tossed his phone across the room to Roxas.

"What is it?" Roxas asked hesitantly.

"Just do it." Axel grinned. "Trust me."

After staring at Axel for a few seconds, Roxas slowly moved towards Demyx. He placed the phone right next to the sitarist's head and pushed the 'play' button on the phone. Harsh, aggressive music filled the room, followed a few seconds later by sceaming vocals in what Roxas could only assume was German. It wasn't for nothing, however. Demyx woke with a start, screaming quite loudly. Axel and Cloud were laughing at the boy while Vincent, on the other hand, simply ignored them like he normaly did.

"What the hell was that for, Axel?" Demyx demanded, glaring at the drummer.

"I thought it would be funny." Axel laughed.

"Is there any particular reason why you woke me up?" Demyx asked, though it was obvious that he was still angry about being awoken in such a manner.

"We've got practice in forty-five." Cloud responded.

"So I could have slept until then!" Demyx exclaimed.

"You would not have awoken in time." Vincent shook his head.

"Yeah, yeah…" Demyx groaned as he got out of bed.

"Roxas, wanna get some breakfast before we go?" Axel asked as he pulled on a pair of pants.

"Yeah, might as well." Roxas shrugged in response as he grabbed his phone and headed for the door.

"See ya later, numb-nuts." Axel grabbed his guitar and drumsticks and followed Roxas out of the cabin and towards the Mess Hall.

"So what's the real reason why you want to go get breakfast?" Roxas asked, blue eyes meeting the green.

"Must there always be a reason?" Axel asked.

"No, but I can tell there is this time." Roxas said, not breaking the eye-contact with Axel.

"Well, you got me." Axel laughed uneasily.

"So what is it?" Roxas asked.

"I just wanted to see how things were going with this guy." Axel asked. "Are you going to say anything to him?"

"You know I want to." Roxas said with a sigh. "More than anything. But I can't."

"Why can't you?" Axel asked.

"Because I don't think he'd be interested in me." Roxas told him. "There's no way in hell that it would be reciprocated."

"It might be." Axel said with a shrug as they passed the basketball court.

"It could, I suppose, but I highly doubt it." Roxas shook his head.

* * *

Axel slammed his book closed, figuring that he wasn't about to get any more reading done. He gazed around the room, wondering what there was to do. Roxas was playing basketball with Hayner, Pence and Olette, Cloud and Zack were working on homework with Yuna and Rikku, Demyx was at the lake with Zexion, and Vincent was studying with Lucrecia. For once, Axel was alone in the cabin.

"Well, what the shit do I do now?"

Axel sighed and rolled over so that he was now on his back, eyes on the ceiling above him. What could he possibly do to pass the time until the second rehearsal of the day?

That's when it hit him.

"Got it." Axel grabbed his phone, which managed to find its way underneath his pillow, and punched in a few numbers. "I might as well get this over with, anyway."

* * *

"I must say, this was very unexpected of you, Axel."

Axel opened his eyes and found Larxene strolling across the grass in the woods to where he was leaning against a large oak tree. She had apparently been trying to sleep –that much was obvious from the tired expression in her eyes- but she had told Axel that she would be able to talk to him, thus explaining her presence.

"Sorry I woke you up, Larx." Axel said apologetically. "You sure you don't want to go back to sleep? I know how cranky you can get."

"Nah, it's fine." Larxene shook it off. "So what's this about, anyway? And don't get all cryptic on me."

"Cryptic?" Axel frowned.

"You were pretty damn confusing on the phone." Larxene said, brushing her hair from her eyes. "I never did understand why you called me out here."

"I want to talk to you about something." Axel said as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"Well, I gathered as much, smart-ass." Larxene rolled her eyes sarcastically. "But what about."

"Him." Axel said simply.

"Him." Larxene repeated, though she had no clue what Axel was going on about. "This guy you like?"

"That's the one." Axel nodded.

"Wait, what about him?" Larxene asked, becoming more awake. "Did something happen with him?"

"No, but something might." Axel shrugged. "I don't know yet."

"Axel, will you please start making some god-damn sense?" Larxene demanded, staring Axel straight in the eyes. "What are you going to do?"

"What I should have done a long time ago." Axel said. "I'm going to tell him how I feel."

**Are you really surprised that I'm ending on a cliffhanger? Because you really shouldn't be. Sorry if the formatting on this is weird. I'm trying the new copy and paste thing and it isn't working out so well. And I'm sorry for any spelling mistakes. My spell-check isn't working. That's it for now. I really hope to have the new chapter out soon. **

**Next chapter: Roxas talks to Axel about a sudden realization and Larxene has some advice of her own. **


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